I was doing some research on sleighing and “speedway” racing, over snow especially, when I came across this tidbit from The New York Times. Coincidentally, it was published on December 15, 1902 … exactly one hundred eight years ago today.

Yesterday was a day of days with sleigh owners in Brooklyn. Everything on runners in the borough, from the grocer’s rude and clumsy delivery sleigh to the dainty and graceful Cutter, was out, and the boulevards and parks were crowded with happy riders gliding over the snow. Horsemen who frequent the Ocean Parkway declared that not in the past ten years had there been such perfect sleighing. There was a fine bottom to the hard, flaky snow on the driveways, and the conditions generally were just right for a full enjoyment of the exhilarating sport.

The greater number of drivers in Brooklyn headed, of course, for Prospect Park and Ocean Parkway. Most of the sleighs went down the popular Speedway, all the way to the ocean. Coney Island came out of its winter sleep and opened up in spots to entertain the throng of sleigh riders. The resort by the sea wore an air of animation all the afternoon. Ocean Parkway was alive with sleighs of all descriptions from early morning up to a late hour last night.

The sleighing at night in the bright moonlight was enjoyed by many even more than that of the day. The road houses on the Parkway, from the Circle down to the Concourse, were crowded with merry sleigh riders. Eastern Parkway also had its crowd on runners, many drivers going out that way to the network of fine roads in Queens Borough.