Labor Day Memories

Monday - September 7, 2009

Did you realize that labor Day has been celebrated here in the United States for over a hundred years? It was a celebration and parade that had been organized by the Knights of Labor in 1882 in New York City. Through the years in eventually evolved from a labor union celebration into a general "last fling of summer" festivals. Families gather together for one last cookout - providing the weather cooperates. There are labor organizations that will put together a day of entertainment with well known musicians performing as a means to tell their employees how important they are to them and to say "thank you". It is also the realization to most that summer is almost officially over and back to work we go with fall and winter right around the corner!

Bill thinks of his dad on Labor Day. He was a strong union man, and secretary for his local UMWA District 50 for many years.

I think of my younger days when Dad would take us all up to my grandparents for a day of "labor" in the potato patch!!! Labor Day was the day Pappaw would dig up the huge rows of potatoes and store them for the winter. These rows were at least the length of a football field. There had to have been at least a dozen rows!!!! We had to gather up all the bushel baskets so we could put the potatoes in once they were out of the ground.

During the summer, we would go with Pappaw to the potato patch and he would "gravel" out enough potatoes for supper! He used the hoe and we would pick them up and place them in a small basket. We thought that was fun - it didn't take long and we knew that Mammaw was going to fix the best fried "taters" you could ever imagine!!!

Uncle Pete would bring his horse he had at that time - I remember Daisy being the horse's name - and hook her up to the plow! Whew - we didn't have to dig the potatoes by hand!!! Once the rows had been plowed we would place the baskets out between the rows. The the fun times would begin!! Right - glad our backs were young and strong!!!!! Actually, Dink, John, and I - can't remember Mike doing it for a long period of time (he was the baby) - would start filling the baskets full with potatoes. Uncle Pete and Dad would then go and hook the sled up to Daisy and would come back and load the baskets on the sled. They would take the baskets to the crib, where Pappaw would spread them out on the benches and in the floor to dry off!!!!

There was a lot of hard "labor" done that day by all of us, but as Mammaw always said, "They will taste better than snowballs this winter!" She was right!!!

Not only did we work hard that day, but Uncle Pete and dad would let us have a little fun when the work was completed! They would take us a ride on the sled with Daisy pulling us around the bottom!! For "city" kids, this was a blast - we tended to forget just how much work we had done!!!

For a very long time as I was growing up, I always connected Labor Day as a day of hard work for us, and as school beginning the next day. Both thoughts at that time in my life never brought a smile to my face. But today, when I think back on those memories, not only do I have a smile remembering how much fun we really did have, but tears in my eyes that so many those I love are not here any longer! These are memories I will always cherish. Pictures are embedded in my mind, and I wish I had access to a digital camera way back then!!!! :):)

Hope you are all making memories today!!!!!!