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It is time once again to celebrate Labor Day. It is a bittersweet holiday, signaling the end of summer with the shorter, cooler days of fall lurking just around the corner. It gives us one more reason to fire up the grill and gather family and friends close before the school buses hit the road and a new school year begins. This is quite fitting, considering that this is the main reason we go to work each day, to provide for our families.
What is the purpose of this unique holiday? Why do we celebrate it? It has no religious connections, nor does it celebrate a particular event in history. Instead, it is a day set aside to acknowledge and commemorate the American worker. Considering the events of the last year and a half, what better time to celebrate those who put themselves in harm's way and continued to faithfully show up for work, ensuring we had the essential goods and services we needed.
Working conditions were not always as they are now. A 12-hour workday, seven days a week, was common in the 1800s. Conditions were often very dangerous. Many oppressed workers tried hard to make their voices heard often resulting in rioting and strikes. In 1894, their efforts were rewarded, and the United State Congress made Labor Day a legal holiday.
As I think back, I had a wonderful example of this American work ethic, the quintessential American laborer. My father held many jobs in his lifetime, most of which were back-breaking, dirty and hazardous. I remember him rising at the crack of dawn and I often was awakened by the sound of his spoon clanging against his bowl as he ate his morning corn flakes (he never wavered for over 25 years, always corn flakes). I would stumble down the hall half awake and crawl up on the bar stool across from him and chat before he left for work. Those were some of my favorite memories.
One of his jobs was working in and iron and steel foundry. As a child, it broke my heart to see him return from work and literally lay on the floor to catch his breath, his lungs filled with smoke, dust, and heaven only knows what other gaseous pollutants. I remember an elementary class assignment where we were asked to write an essay on how we would spend a large sum of money if it were given to us. I don't recall the exact amount we were to be given, but I clearly remember my answer. I would give my money to my father so he would never again have to enter that foundry or lay on the floor struggling to breathe.
So, as we celebrate this Labor Day, let us remember that it is not just about picnics, festivals, races, and fun celebrations, although those things are all important. It is also a time to stop and remember those who in the past proudly built this country through often arduous, grueling labor as well as those who faithfully go to work each and every day to keep our economy vibrant and sustain our quality of life. As Harry S. Truman said, "America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand." Happy Labor Day!
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Rhonda Kelley is executive director of the Juniata River Valley Chamber of Commerce.