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There will be no fireworks display in Hollister this Fourth of July, no grand parade with multiple brass bands playing patriotic music, no dramatic oratory on the Great American Experiment delivered from a grandstand to an enthusiastic crowd.
The idea of not holding that kind of celebration would have been unthinkable to those who resided in the area during California’s early decades of statehood. Then it was an event that began in the morning and continued for hours after the last of the fireworks exploded.
But times change….
The earliest coverage of a July 4th Celebration in San Benito County appears in the first archived year of the Hollister Free Lance, 1887, beginning with an announcement on May 17 that the Hollister Fire Department, founded 12 years before, had taken the lead in planning.
Ten days later, the editors described the upcoming event as a “genuine, old-fashioned celebration,” saying “Everyone is determined to shake off the depressing influences of a dry year” — the area had been experiencing a severe drought that lasted through 1888.
There are earlier accounts of Fourth of July events in the surrounding area, beginning with an article in the 1856 Santa Cruz Pacific Sentinel. While the Santa Cruz papers were usually reliable in mentions of the goings-on in San Juan Bautista (then San Juan), the July 5 edition of the paper only mentions celebrations in Santa Cruz and Monterey.
This trend continued until the Free Lance was founded. The 1864 Pajaro Times, for example, mentions San Juan in a second-page column on July 9, next to the paper’s endorsement of Abraham Lincoln for president, saying only that “Monterey, San Juan, Salinas, Corralitos, Soquel and Santa Cruz furnished representatives [visitors] in abundance” to the celebration in Watsonville.
But the Free Lance coverage was, of course, more extensive, detailing the many committee meetings, preparations and fundraising for the 1887 event, including a June 7 announcement that $800 had been secured to “insure a credible demonstration,” and the Portuguese Union had hired the 20-piece San Leandro Brass Band to head the parade.
On June 28, for example, there was a report that Ben Gould and Joe Scranton were tasked with finding the main attraction for the greased pig competition, the right kind of “porker” for that occasion.
“They want an animal of the true razor back breed,” it read, “strong in wind and limb; beauty and grace will cut no figure in this business. Scranton will attend to shaving the brute, and Gould will apply the grease. Lord help the pig.”
Another important committee gathered participants for the “Horribles,” a separate procession following the main parade that closely resembled the modern-day antics of E Campus Vitus at similar occasions and was an expected part of any Fourth of July celebration nationwide.
The tradition began in the 1850s as a parody of Boston’s elite “Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company.” This was twisted into “Antiques and Horribles,” with participants in comical masks, mismatched clothes, and painted devil outfits, often riding outlandishly decorated goat carts and playing broken instruments.
The “best sustained character” was eligible for a $10 prize.
By the morning of the 4th, according to the Free Lance, flags were floating everywhere, and almost every home was decked in “bright colors.” And the crowds began to arrive.
Everyone was there, the July 8 account read. “The back country must have been practically deserted. One, two, four and six-horse teams came into town, representing every district, every settlement, and almost every ranch in the county.”
The parade began at 10 a.m. at Monterey and Seventh Streets and proceeded to San Benito Street. Turning left, it continued onto Second Street, where it countermarched (made a U-turn) and, turning again onto South Street, ended at the recently completed county courthouse at the intersection of Monterey and Fourth Streets, across from the current courthouse.
The order of the procession was as follows:
1. Grand Marshal R. P. Lathrop.
2. Town Trustees, Supervisors, Orator M. T. Dooling and Rev. C. S. Lathrop.
3. The Hazel Brass Band.
4. The Car of Liberty.
5. The Guard-Echoes of the Republic.
6. Chief Engineer Alex Eaton and assistants G. M. Wood and A. P. Carr.
7. The Pioneer Hook & Ladder Company.
8. The Alert Hose Co. No. 1.
9. The Wide Awake Hose Co. No. 2.
10. The Excelsior Hose Co. No. 3.
11. The Old Soldiers’ wagon.
12. San Benito Lodge No. 90, Ancient Order of United Workmen
13. The Native Sons of the Golden West.
14. The Union Portuguese Association.
15. Citizens in carriages.
16. Citizens on horseback.
Though not mentioned, President of the Day T. S. Hawkins, founder of Hazel Hawkins Hospital, was likely among the people marching in the second group. Later accounts of these parades mentioned that “citizens on foot” ended these processions.
The “Guard-Echoes of the Republic” were local members of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization composed entirely of Civil War Union veterans. As reported on July 1, they had agreed to join the procession after the local military volunteers “revolted” against participating, thus, in the words of the newspaper, saving the event from “utter disgrace.”
The Car of Liberty was a float on which May Wheeler, the “Goddess of Liberty,” rode with Edward Nash and John Haley, representing the Army and the Navy. Surrounding her were 38 children dressed in white, representing the States of the Union.
(A later announcement in the newspaper asked the kids to return the badges worn to designate their state to the organizers.)
The procession took about an hour to make its course, after which the Goddess and her entourage were seated at the dais, located in front of the small county jail. They were joined by the Hazel Brass Band, which played “Colombia, the Gem of the Ocean,” Mrs. A. D Shaw performing “The Star-Spangled Banner” with a choir, a reading of the Declaration of Independence by Professor A. Leggett that “brought forth the full meaning and grandeur” and a host of officials, including the county supervisors, the city trustees and all the event dignitaries.
M. T. Dooley, while promising in his speech to “not detain you for any great length of time” or “enter upon a subject either novel or curious,” proceeded to do so, offering a 20-minute-long oration on the history of the human race, the foundation of a government by free people, labor and capital, education, and the promise that the United States would become “the wonder of the world.”
It is fair to imagine the crowd’s relief at his conclusion, as Hawkins announced that the distribution of barbecue and fresh bread was next on the agenda, as prepared by “Uncle” Johnnie Robinson and “Sailor Jack.”
“Thousands of slices” of beef, pork and lamb, along with 600 loaves of bread “disappeared as if by magic in an hour’s time.”
At two o’clock, the races began, starting with a four-contestant bicycle race on San Benito Street won by Al Hawkins, with a gold-headed cane as a prize. We know the other races and the prizes, but not the winners: the Three-Legged Race ($5), the Fat Man’s Race (for men over 200 lbs, $10), catching the Greased Pig ($5 and the pig).
As remarked earlier, Lord help the pig….
After the races came a baseball game pitting the McMahon House club, sponsored by a local hotel, against the Advance Club, composed of older, more experienced players.
“Advance counted confidently in victory,” according to the July 8 account, “with some of them backing up their opinions with coin. In fact, considerable money changed hands on the results of the game.”
The play-by-play goes on almost as long as the transcription of Dooley’s speech. The McMahon team proved victorious, scoring a close 20-17 triumph and winning $25. Singled out for praise were McMahon players Burt Swan, catcher, and Cory Biggs, second base.
As for the Advance Club? “Some of the Advance nine need to pay less attention to their good looks, graceful posturing, etc., and more to the game.”
A grand ball at the Wells Opera, sponsored by the Hollister Fire Department, concluded the evening, beginning at 10 p.m., with a “supper quadrille” at midnight catered by McMahon House and the French Hotel, which “vied with one another in their endeavors to set a good table.”
Dancing then continued until 3 a.m., at which point “the many labors of the day had fairly tired out the dancers.” Although planned, fireworks are not mentioned in the account and were perhaps canceled in deference to the dry season.
The finances of the celebration were not reported, but what was published for the following year gives a hint. If the committee really took in $8,000, they did well—the following year’s report notes $650 in receipts and $622 in expenses, with the balance donated to the fire department.
The biggest expenses were the barbecue at $188 and the music at $104. Another $62 was awarded in prizes, $38 was spent on the Liberty Car, and $41 was allotted to costumes for the Horribles.
Today, with the community focused on the motorcycle rally, this year’s celebration might have fewer events than that of 1887. But the backyard barbecues are still there, as well as the kiddie parade down San Benito Street on the morning of the Fourth, and a display honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary at the San Benito County Library.
And the spirit expressed in Dooley’s speech is also there: that as we celebrate the nation’s birthday, we also “trust in the growth, development, and improvement of American ideas, which shall make our country what it should be, a blessing to its citizens through all future generations.”
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‘Betsy Ross’ leads way on patriotism with 4th of July Kiddie Parade, 250th anniversary exhibit
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