J.H. Bufford 1859Doesn't that look wonderful? My mother remembers skating on the pond with great pleasure. When people come together today, they pay $200 to sit in uncomfortable seats and watch someone else have fun. I'm talking to you, Red Sox fans. Things were better in the old day, harrumph, harrumph....
Boston Daily Globe December 29, 1919
Thousands of Skaters On Greater Boston Ice Surfaces
Jamaica Pond Attracts The Biggest Crowds
Yesterday was a great day for skating in Greater Boston. The ice, generally, was good and the weather conditions perfect. Thousands upon thousands of boys and girls and men and women took advantage of this combination and turned out to give this enjoyable and health-giving Winter sport a great whirl.
The largest crowd at any one place undoubtedly was Jamaica Pond. The peak of the attendance at this magnificent outdoor rink was reached between 3 and 4 o'clock in the afternoon, when there were upward of 10,000 on the ice or resting ashore.
The skaters came from all parts of the city and thousands of residents of Jamaica Plain gathered around the pond simply to watch them, getting almost as much pleasure as did the actual participants in the carnival.
There were some excellent skaters in the throng - fancy skaters they might be called - and some, of course, who were making their first venture on the steel runners.
Three or four dogs declared themselves in on the sport, and every last one, including the canines, had the time of their lives.
Early in the day the ice was perfect, but before dark it was considerably cut up, especially inshore on the side nearest Pond st. Out in the middle of the pond, however, it remained good throughout the day and evening.
The big gathering of youth and beauty made a grand spectacle, but it is a safe bet that many who helped to make the picture have reminders of some ground and lofty tumblings. so far as could be learned, however, no one was seriously hurt.
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