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media type="file" key="lillie coit.wav" width="240" height="20"This is about Lillie Hitchcock Coit. Lillie Hitchcock Coit was born in 1840. She started to love fire fighters because she was saved from a fire. When Lillie was 15 she pulled a rope and yelled for people to help her pull the Knickerbocker Co. No. 5 engine up a steep hill. She wanted them to get to the fire first. She became a volunteer fire fighter. Lillie use to wear trousers and smoke cigars. She was a gambler. She dressed like a man to gamble because it was a man only casino. People said she shaved her head for her wigs to fit better. Lillie Hitchcock married Howard Coit. After her marriage she moved to east Europe. Lillie Hitchcock Coit admired the fire fighters of the1906 earthquake. Lillie died on July 22, 1926. She was 86 years old. Lillie Hitchcock Coit left funds for the city of San Francisco. Since she loved fire fighters so much they decided to build Coit Tower in honor of her.

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