This weekend marks 130 years since New Jersey established Labor Day as a holiday. In 1887, Oregon was the first state to grant legal status to the holiday but listed the date as the first Saturday in June. That same year Colorado, New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey adopted the holiday and proclaimed it be observed on the first Monday in September. In 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed a bill recognizing the first Monday in September as a national holiday.
Today we recognize the upcoming three day weekend as the time for wearing white clothes is “out”, store sales are “in”, summer is over, school starts up again, time for backyard barbecues, a last trip down the shore and looking toward busier times at work.
The initial idea for Labor Day as a general labor festival may have originated in Canada in 1872, which today also celebrates “Labour Day” on the first Monday in September. Our holiday traces its roots back to 1882 when Peter McGuire, a union leader, suggested that there be a celebration honoring American workers and organized a parade in New York City. Initially that morning, few people showed up and organizers worried that workers had been reluctant to surrender a day’s pay to join the rally. But soon the crowds began flowing in from across the city and by the end of the day it is estimated that 10,000 people had marched in the parade and joined the festivities afterward in what the press dubbed “a day of the people”. McGuire said that there was no particular significance to the date and it was chosen because it fell roughly halfway between the 4th of July and Thanksgiving. This holiday is a continuing national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity and well-being of our country
Labor Day 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” to the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families. So enjoy a day off but take a moment to pay tribute to America’s labor force.
** The 9th Annual Chad Gunther Memorial Fundraising Dinner will be held on Sunday, Sept. 17 at the Lakeside Manor in Gibbsboro. Cocktails and hors d’ oeuvres begin at 5 p.m. followed by dinner and dancing. Entertainment will be provided by DJ Michael Lazar and Magical Entertainment by Peter Cuddihy. Tickets are $58 per person. This year, the organization plans to continue to support youth athletic and community programs in Voorhees and Gibbsboro, including the Voorhees Girls Softball Association and the Bancroft Special Olympics. Reservations/donations can be sent to the Chad Gunther Memorial Fund (CGMF) at P.O. Box 404, Voorhees, New Jersey 08043. For more information, contact Ted Lachman at tedlock@verizon.net.
** Our Summer Twilight Series concludes with our annual Movie Night in the Park on Saturday, Sept. 23. The popular animated comedy Sing will be shown on a state of the art digital LED screen. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. at Connolly Park and is free.
** The Voorhees Animal Orphanage will hold its 21st Annual Woofstock on Sept. 23, rain date October 7, from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. at Connolly Park. The event will feature festivities for animal lovers of all ages and their leashed pets. There will be vendors, food trucks, musical acts and special guests. For more information about Woofstock or the Animal Orphanage, visit www.vaonj.org/woofstock/
