Hose reel races were a popular activity at community events across North America during the late-19th and early-20th centuries.
The timed competition usually involved a team of men, usually firefighters, running about 400 yards with a reel cart to a fire hydrant to attach and lay 300 feet of hose. The best teams would finish in less than a minute.
Here is a photo from a race that took place along First Street in Lower Lonsdale in the early 1900s of an Indigenous hose reel team competing. The house pictured on the left is still there today.
Visit the MONOVA website for more information about the history of the North Shore and to plan your visit to MONOVA: Museum of North Vancouver, now open at 115 West Esplanade in The Shipyards.
Currently, MONOVA: Archives of North Vancouver, at 3203 Institute Road in Lynn Valley, is open for drop-ins on Monday and by appointment Tuesday-Friday, 12:30-4 p.m. Contact: [email protected]
Navigate culture on the North Shore by using the North Shore Culture Compass.
