A black and white photo postcard shows the July 4th, 1909 hose team race on Subway Street. The year 1909 has been written on the side in ink. The postcard is unused, and the publisher is unknown. Charles Pickerell Collection.

Bisbee's 4th of July celebrations began with two separate parades, one beginning on the top of Brewery Gulch and the other starting up at Tombstone Canyon. They would make their way down and meet up together in front of the Southwest & El Paso train depot. Bisbee's many fraternal organizations would take part in the parades. They would raise the American Flag, accompanied by setting off sticks of dynamite along with bugle trumpets. Drilling contests took place with two classes: single jack with a single man drilling or double jack with a team of two men. They would test to see who could drill the deepest hole in a block of Gunnison granite rock in fifteen minutes. The single jack team would usually drill to 20 inches, while the double jack team would drill to 40 inches. The winners were awarded cash prizes. Another staple were coaster races, also called push mobile races, which first took place as part of Bisbee's 4th of July in 1911. Boys from the age of ten to fourteen participated in in teams of two. The race began at the top of the divide and was three miles long with many sharp curves. Coasters were released at one minute intervals and their long ride down the Canyon came to a halt courtesy of hay bales at the end of the finish line. There were tug of war contests, wrestling matches, and foot races that were held on Naco Road. One hundred yard and fifty yard dashes, along with sack races and one-legged races. For a few years, There was a special chicken race where the birds would be let loose to run helter skelter until a child would catch it to bring it home. An important race race hills was was the hose race: Bisbee's hose race teams were made up of nine men, usually from the fire department, running with a wound up hose on a revolving axle placed on a cart that also contained fire nozzles and other axles; five men pulling from the front, two men pushing from the rear, and two men to keep the cart stable. Theresa's length was a 100 yards to a fire hydrant. The men pushing the cart were responsible for attaching the hose, a second length would be connected along with the nozzle. The race was timed from crossing the starting line and ending when water gushed out of the hose end towards a target . Teams could be disqualified if the hydrant was turned on before the hose was attached. During its time, hose races We're popular events. The role they played in training firefighters was critical, the 1907 Chihuahua hill fire and the October 1908 fire served as a bitter reminder of the readiness needed to deal with major disasters. Speeches and dances were held built at Plaza Park near the Copper Queen offices and the Copper Queen Hotel. At the end of the day, the customary fireworks were set off from Bucky O'Neill hill. The end of the show was marked by releasing an illuminated balloon which floated away into the night sky.

1977.25.7