Originally published in the Voice of the Valley, September 1, 2009
By Frank Hammock
Adorned bicycles of the 1947 Labor Day Parade.
The celebration of Labor Day has always been a time to honor the working class and remind us of the prevailing strength and stamina of our trade and labor organizations throughout America. The holiday was always expressed with a variety of events from parades, games, dances, baseball and soccer, prayer, social gatherings, food and picnics. Businesses closed their doors and some of America’s best culinary delights would don the tables and blankets at the numerous social gatherings across the land from hamburgers and hotdogs to grandma’s apple pie.
There was music and drink, some of it even homemade, and relaxation of every kind enjoyed by all as families, friends, and neighbors gathered to appreciate the holiday and engage in the festivities. Labor Day was also a time to speak out for inequality in labor practices by demonstrations and speeches that brought to light the circumstances Labor Day – A time for children that prevailed upon the working class from unfair wages to unsafe conditions. (more…)
Black Diamond History 