d the
glory of the skating park was a memory of the past.

Later on a promoter endeavored to rent Jeffries Hall for a roller
skating rink. George Washington Frazee, who learned of the man renting
Jeffries' hall for a skating rink, said: "Huh! Another dam fool 'bout
skeetin'. Jeffries Hall won't hold water, an' if it did hit wouldn't
freeze hard enuff to bear."

For the winter the town went back to its time honored sport of sledding,
"coasting" it is termed nowadays. Sleds of all kinds were seen on the
hills and streets of the two towns. Even men engaged in the sport. The
speed attained, especially on Scrabbletown Hill, was terrific. The big
sleds, loaded with from four to eight persons, flew down the hills at
the rate of a mile a minute. The sleds bore striking names, Alfred's the
"West Wind." It was one of the speediest of the numerous fast ones.

Starting at the top of Town Hill, those on the Brownsville side would
speed to the Iron Bridge, even across it into Bridgeport. Those sliding
Scrabbletown Hill would often be sent, by the speed attained on this
steep incline, across the Iron Bridge into Brownsville. Thus the
coasters of the rival towns would at times, pass each other going in
opposite directions.

The older men would sit in the stores and watch the sliders. The
shoe-shops of McKernan and Potts were the scenes of many heated
arguments as to the fleetness of the different sleds.

An old gentleman who had recently moved to Brownsville from Uniontown,
endeavored to impress the shoe-shop crowds with the superiority of the
sleds of the Uniontown boys over those of Brownsville. He related that a
Uniontown boy slid down Laurel Hill through Uniontown and would have
slid on down the pike to Searight's only he was afraid he would 'skeer'
somebody's horses.

[Illustration: Brownsville's Winter Sport]

Shuban Lee, ever loyal to Brownsville and her sleds, related how Alfred
had loaned his sled to a show fellow he brought home with him from
somewhere. "The show chap did not know much about sliding. Alfred's sled
was a whirlwind when it got to goin'. The show feller hauled the sled to
the top of Town Hill. He started down the hill. The sled run so fast it
crossed the Iron Bridge up to the top of Scrabbletown Hill. Afore he cud
git off she started back down the hill, across the Iron Bridge agin, up
to the top of Town Hill an' back she started. Half the men in town run
out an' tried to stop thet sled but hit wus so col