Ahhhhh, Labor Day weekend is about to come upon us once again. 'Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.' per United States Department of Labor website. It was first celebrated on September 5, 1882.
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| 1949 - Jimmy 2nd grade Mary 1st grade |
Today, Labor Day, has many other meanings - it's the unofficial end of summer and school vacation (although in Arizona most of our schools started on August 7 - a month prior to Labor Day). When I was a child school usually started the day after Labor Day. It's also marks the beginning of football season (seems to me though these days that football is played year round, but that's another blog).
The most important thing for me as a teenager was that the Los Angeles County Fair started on or about Labor Day weekend. It was held at the fairgrounds in Pomona, California - which was just a couple miles from our house. There was concerts, rides, Fun Houses, and cotton candy! When the Ferris Wheel broke down with a wheel full of people those at the bottom used to envy those at the top and vice versa. I always wanted to be stuck high up...don't know why because I'm not crazy about heights...must have been the thrill of it all and the 'I can do' attitude a teenager has. I loved that 'Fun House' too...the whacko mirrors and the the 'ghosts' hiding in unknown places and then jumping out at you when least expected....it was all the best.
Best of all was every year we got an extra day off school and free tickets. Plus it was fairly inexpensive at other times...rides were a quarter and admission to the park was about a dollar. All this for 2 weeks was more fun to look forward to than the holiday, going back to school, and football.
Mary Post Warren
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