Celebrations: Labor Day

This 3¢ stamp was issued on September 3, 1956 and paid the postage on a one-ounce first-class letter.

[The Smithsonian Institution - National Postal Museum]

Florence Reece (1900-1986) wrote this song in 1931 after her house was invaded by men hired by the mining company who hoping to find and murder her husband Sam, a union organizer in Harlan County, Kentucky. Fortunately Sam had received a warning and he escaped before they arrived.

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Celebrations: Labor Day

If you have 3-1/2 minutes to spare I highly recommend that you watch this 1904 Labor Day parade in Massachusetts which the Library of Congress describes this way:

Shows a parade through bunting-draped streets, probably in the town of Leominster, Mass. First, a decorated grandstand bearing the banner "Leominster heartily greets its guests" is seen, and then the camera pans to the street where the parade is to be photographed. The sidewalks are crowded with people, including many little girls in white or light-colored dresses. People run back and forth across the street, and then the parade starts. Automobiles decorated with flowers, flags, and ribbons pass in review. Next come horse-drawn fire engines, followed by horse-drawn carts, carriages, and floats of assorted shapes and sizes.

[Labor Day parade, Fitchburg, Mass. Source: Library of Congress]

It looks like everyone in town who owned an automobile participated.

© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Celebrations: Labor Day

I hope you're all having a safe and sane one!

[Source: Valuable Postcards]

You can read more about the history of today's holiday here.

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Celebrations: Labor Day

The very first Labor Day parade took place in New York City on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, organized by the Central Labor Union. Labor Day was first celebrated as a national holiday on the first Monday of September in 1894, although by then 23 states (beginning with Oregon in 1887) had already made it a holiday in their state.

[Library of Congress on Facebook]

To learn more about the history of the holiday, you can visit the U.S. Department of Labor's webpage here, read about what probably was behind President Grover Cleveland's support for the national holiday in 1894 here, and watch the TED-Ed video below.

[Why do Americans and Canadians celebrate Labor Day? - Kenneth C. Davis]

© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.