The Firefighters' Heavyweight Victory
A grueling contest of strength between Yakima’s firemen and a team of local citizens ends in a surprise win for the city's defenders.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The Yakima fire laddies are determined to keep up the reputation gained over the Ellensburg boys July 4th last. They met the picked team of citizens in the 'tug of war,' at Switzer’s opera house, Wednesday evening, and now wear the champion pennant. The exhibition of strength was given in the presence of a large and enthusiastic crowd, but, owing to the extra 'heft' of the citizens’ team, the fire boys were not backed among their sporting friends to the extent of their merits, as the result showed. Two strong pulls, the first by the citizens’ crowd resulted in the loss of eight inches to the firemen, and the second in a similar gain by the city’s defenders, marked the only great outward struggle, and then, with bodies swayed backward and muscles drawn to the utmost tension, the tug of war was on in earnest. Such supreme effort cannot last very long, and in two minutes the 'citizens' were gradually drawn over the line, and the fire boys gained the victory, amid enthusiastic cheering of the audience.
“With bodies swayed backward and muscles drawn to the utmost tension, the tug of war was on in earnest.”
In the 1890s, the physical stamina of a city's volunteer fire brigade was a matter of intense local pride and betting. While modern fire departments rely on engine power rather than human muscle, the spirit of 'city versus citizens' rivalry remains a core part of the civic identity of Yakima's community events.
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