Greenwich Time. Looking Back: March 27, 1994
As winters go, 1857 was an especially cold one in Greenwich. Temperatures descended to -14° F in February. The calm waters of Long Island Sound were frozen from the Connecticut shoreline to the opposite north shore of Long Island.
This, of course, was before the days of ice-breaking ships, which sliced paths through the frozen waters in later years.
While most people hunkered next to their blazing hearths, a group of Greenwich boys contrived a creative plan to do what had never been done before – ice skate across Long Island Sound and return to Greenwich.
About 23 town youngsters took part in this feat. It was kept a secret and set several days beforehand – on St. Valentine's Day, Feb. 14, 1857.
The day was clear but exceptionally cold. They left Steamboat Dock, each carrying a 30-foot-long rope. Most had a piece of leather fixed with spikes and a bucket in the event they had to walk. The young adventures brought several sleds, which some boys rode in.
Only two people outside this group knew of the journey – Peter Acker and Merritt Mead. Mr. Acker lived near the top of Greenwich Avenue. With an advantageous vista of Long Island Sound, he monitored the boys movement with a telescope. He lost sight of them briefly during a detour, necessitated by a large crack in the ice off Little Captain's Island.
Aside from their detour, the boys crossed the frozen waters with little trouble. The course was almost straight across. Seamen Mead, one of the adventurers, said in his later years: "On reaching there, we turned around and made for home, getting back a little after 2 o'clock, a pretty tired lot of boys. We made the 16 miles in a little over four hours."
The boys of Port Chester, not wanting to be undone, performed the same achievement several days later and a little further down the coast.
How did the parents react?
Said Mr. Mead: "Mother scolded me good and hard, but my father did not say much."
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