The History of Labor Day

The following information is a re-print of the Department of Labor .Gov's explanation of Labor Day. I thought about writing an article but decided to celebrate with a day off for myself. LOL
Here you go from dol.gov
The History of Labor Day

Check out our Labor Day 2012 page, complete with videos, photo, resources, and more.

Labor Day: How it Came About; What it Means

Labor Day, the first Monda

y 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.

Founder of Labor Day

More than 100 years after the first Labor Day observance, there is still some doubt as to who first proposed the holiday for workers.

Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor those "who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold."

But Peter McGuire's place in Labor Day history has not gone unchallenged. Many believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, not Peter McGuire, founded the holiday. Recent research seems to support the contention that Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. What is clear is that the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic.

The First Labor Day

The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883.

In 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a "workingmen's holiday" on that date. The idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial centers of the country.

Labor Day Legislation

Through the years the nation gave increasing emphasis to Labor Day. The first governmental recognition came through municipal ordinances passed during 1885 and 1886. From them developed the movement to secure state legislation. The first state bill was introduced into the New York legislature, but the first to become law was passed by Oregon on February 21, 1887. During the year four more states — Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York — created the Labor Day holiday by legislative enactment. By the end of the decade Connecticut, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania had followed suit. By 1894, 23 other states had adopted the holiday in honor of workers, and on June 28 of that year, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories.

A Nationwide Holiday

The form that the observance and celebration of Labor Day should take was outlined in the first proposal of the holiday — a street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations" of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families. This became the pattern for the celebrations of Labor Day. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civic significance of the holiday. Still later, by a resolution of the American Federation of Labor convention of 1909, the Sunday preceding Labor Day was adopted as Labor Sunday and dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement.

The character of the Labor Day celebration has undergone a change in recent years, especially in large industrial centers where mass displays and huge parades have proved a problem. This change, however, is more a shift in emphasis and medium of expression. Labor Day addresses by leading union officials, industrialists, educators, clerics and government officials are given wide coverage in newspapers, radio, and television.

The vital force of labor added materially to the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known and has brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of economic and political democracy. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pay tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation's strength, freedom, and leadership — the American worker.

Blue Moon

Once in a blue moon…..the phrase for me has a dreamy romantic connotation which brings to mind a dark mysterious sky with a glowing orb in the sky. An orb, upon which if you look and make a wish anything is possible. A rare opportunity!  Well, tonight is a blue moon and while we’ve already done the article for today I felt a blue moon was special enough to do two. What exactly is a “BLUE” moon? Does it have any historical significance? Is it simply just rare?

Technically, a blue moon is: can be one of two things it can be either a physically blue moon such as when the volcano Krakatoa erupted in 1883 and caused the moon to appear blue for nearly two years. It can also refer to an extra full moon in a season.

In the United States the Farmer’s Almanac would calculate the dates of full moons and planting schedules based on what is called a tropical calendar year. Most tropical years contain twelve full moons but every once in awhile thirteen occur.  Each moon was generally named during the year based on its placement in the calendar such as the Harvest Moon, Yule Moon and Easter Moon. The blue moon was often called the Betrayer Moon by or false moon as it did not have any calendar significance.

There are lots of interesting tidbits of information regarding blue moons and folklore if you’d like to take the time to read them I’ll provide an interesting link at the bottom. In the meantime, I think we can all agree on the colloquial definition of extremely rare.

http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/bluemoon.html

School in 1912 Continued....

As I was doing research for this weeks articles on back to school 1912 style I stumbled across and exam given to 8th graders in 1912. The website is bullitcountyhistory.com and has links to the county's history but I decided to share the exam here too. (Thank you bullitcountyhistory.com)

So, the questions are ......Are we smarter today? Or were the 8th graders of 1912 ahead?

Rules for Female Teachers

As promised the rest of this week is about back to school about a century ago.

What were the requirements for teaching in the early 1900’s? Here’s some “rules” for female teachers from -Cabell County, West Virginia
Board of Education, 1915

1. You will not marry during the term of your contract.
2. You are not to keep company with men.
3. You must be home between the hours of 8 PM and 6 AM unless attending a school function.
4. You may not loiter downtown in ice cream stores.
5. You may not travel beyond city limits unless you have the permission of the chairman of the board.
6. You may not ride in a carriage or automobile with a man unless he is your father or brother.
7. You may not smoke cigarettes.
8. You may not dress in bright colors.
9. You may, under no circumstances, dye your hair.
10. You must wear at least two petticoats.
11. Your dresses must not be any shorter than two inches above the ankle.
12. You will keep the schoolroom neat and clean, sweep the floor at least once daily, scrub the floor at least once each week, clean the blackboards once a day, and start the fire at 7 AM so the room will be warm at 8 AM.

First Day of School

 “School days! School days! /Good old golden rule days!/ Readin’ and ’ritin’ and ’rithmetic/ Taught to the tune of a hickory stick ...”

Well, it's finally arrived the day celebrated by millions of parents around the world and dreaded by just as many children..... The first day of school. It has arrived in our home and what's generally the norm for the rest of the world is usually not here. I'm sad school is back in session and my feisty, independent little red-head is ready to go.

So, this whole back to school ritual we perform each year got me thinking........ what was school like a 100 years ago? What were the types of things parents purchased for their children? How many children continued in public education up to the 12th grade? How many left early for marriage or work? What were the requirements of teachers in 1912? What were the classrooms like and what types of supplies did the children use? What types of things were taught in 1912 public schools?

For the remainder of the week we'll discuss these topics. For today, I'm going to start where we start each year.....School Supplies and Back to School Shopping.

Boys Back To School Wardrobe 1912 (Photo Courtesy of Oxford Orphanage)

Typical clothing for the 1912 elementary school boy seems to have been knickers or short pants and knee socks with lace up shoes and button up shirts. Boys living in the county typically seem to show up at school wearing overalls.

Girls Back to School Wardrobe Early 1900's (Photo of my great grandmother's school)

Typical clothing for the 1912 elementary school girl would have been dresses and pinafores. Girls hair was generally pulled back with a large bow or braided. Country girls would have had simpler clothing than city girls. The photographs above show the differences between city and country schools although the children in the first photograph were orphans city children still had more formal clothing.

School supplies would have been simple slates and chalk.  Lunches were brought from home.

Summer's Over

Well folks......summer's over and we are back to work. We spent the summer in NY and traveled across the United States in a compact Mercedes Benz jam packed with treasures we bought on our adventures. By the time we returned home this past weekend I wasn't sure there was enough room left in the car for people. We picked up treasures in the "World's Largest Antique Mall" in Ohio and bought dolls, vanity items and vintage purses all along the way. We'll be adding all of these treasures to the shop in the upcoming months along with vintage costume jewelry, antique coins and a huge amount of World War II memorabilia. Check back with us daily for interesting articles regarding the art, antiques and silver coin world. You never know what daily tidbit's we'll surprise you with.

SCREAMING!!!!

According to CNN: "
Edvard Munch's painting "The Scream" sold at Sotheby's in New York for $119.9 million on Wednesday night.

The amount is a record for a work of art sold at auction. The version of "The Scream" sold is one of four painted between 1893 and 1910, and is one of the best-known images in modern art."

The painting was created after Edvard Munch visited his sister in an asylum and was deeply pained by a romantic break-up. The painting was estimated by some to bring in 200 million. Guess the economy is down even for billionaires. This only fetched $119.9 Million!