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THE HISTORY OF LABOR DAY
The origins of Labor Day are more than a century old.
The first Labor Day parade
in New York City was held in September 1982. Two men are credited with playing an important role not only in bringing about
the parade but the holiday as well. Matthew Maguire, a machinist from Paterson, N.J., and Peter J. McGuire, a New York City
carpenter who helped found the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, are said to have suggested a holiday to honor
working people in the United States. In 1887, Oregon became the first state to make Labor Day a legal holiday, and in 1894,
President Grover Cleveland signed a bill making Labor Day a national holiday.
Labor Day is observed as a legal holiday
on the first Monday in September throughout the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada. In Australia, Labor Day is called Eight
Hour Day, and it commemorates the successful struggle for a shorter working day. In Europe, Labor Day is observed on May 1,
also known as May Day.
POETRY
I Hear America Singing
I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear;
Those of the mechanics-each
one singing his,
as it should be, blithe and strong;
The carpenter singing his, as he measures his plank or beam,
The mason singing his, as he makes ready for work,
or leaves off work;
The boatman singing what belongs to him
in his boat-
the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck;
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench-
the hatter
singing as he stands;
The wood-cutter's song-the ploughboy's, on his way in
the morning, or at the noon intermission,
or at sundown;
The delicious singing of the mother-or of the young
wife at work-or of the girl sewing or washing-
Each singing what belongs to her, and to none else;
The day what belongs to the day-At night, the party of
young
fellows, robust, friendly,
Singing, with open mouths, their strong melodious songs.
-Walt Whitman
SHIRT
The back, the yoke, the yardage. Lapped seams,
The nearly invisible stitches along the collar
Turned
in a sweatshop by Koreans or Malaysians
Of cuff I button at my wrist. The presser, the cutter,
The wringer, the mangle.
The needle, the union,
The treadle, the bobbin. The code. The infamous blaze
At the Triangle Factory in nineteen-eleven.
One hundred and forty six died in the flames
On the ninth floor, no hydrants, no fire escapes--
The witness in
a building across the street
Who watched how a young man helped a girl to step
Up to the window sill, then held her
out
Away from the masonry wall and let her drop.
And then another. As if he were helping them up
To enter a streetcar,
and not eternity.
A third before he dropped her put her arms
Around his neck and kissed him. Then he held
Her
into space, and dropped her. Almost at once
He stepped to the sill himself, his jacket flared
And fluttered up from
his shirt as he came down,
Air filling up the legs of his gray trousers--
Like Hart Crane's Bedlamite, "shrill
shirt ballooning."
Wonderful how the pattern matches perfectly
Across the placket and over the twin bar-tacked
Corners of both pockets, like a strict rhyme
Or a major chord. Prints, plaids, checks,
Houndstooth, Tattersall,
Madras. The clan tartans
Invented by mill-owners inspired by the hoax of Ossian,
To control their savage Scottish
workers, tamed
By a fabricated heraldry: MacGregor,
Bailey, MacMartin. The kilt, devised for workers
To wear among
the dusty clattering looms.
Weavers, carders, spinners. The loader,
The docker, the navvy. The planter, the picker,
the sorter
Sweating at her machine in a litter of cotton
As slaves in calico headrags sweated in fields:
George
Herbert, your descendant is a Black
Lady in South Carolina, her name is Irma
And she inspected my shirt. Its color
and fit
And feel and its clean smell have satisfied
Both her and me. We have culled its cost and quality
Down
to the buttons of simulated bone,
The buttonholes, the sizing, the facing, the characters
Printed in black on neckband
and tail. The shape,
The label, the labor, the color, the shade. The shirt.
RECIPES
CURRY DIP
Ingredients:
8-ounce container reduced-fat sour cream
1/3 cup low-fat mayonnaise
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tablespoons mango chutney
Combine ingredients in
a bowl and keep chilled until ready to serve. Blanched fresh broccoli, cauliflower and carrots are excellent with this dip.
BROCCOLI SALAD
1-2 large heads of broccoli
1/2 red onion chopped
10-12 slices of bacon- cooked
crisp, broken up
1/2 cup of raisins
DRESSING: 1 cup of mayonaisse 1/2 cup of sugar 2 Tablespoons of vinegar
Combine dressing ingredients. Mix all ingredients together. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours.
PEANUT
BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
Ingredients:
1 stick real butter
1 stick margarine
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 baking soda
2
1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
Directions:
Preheat
oven to 350
Microwave real butter and margarine together until melted. Place in mixer the melted butter, white sugar,
brown sugar and peanut butter - mix on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs and beat mixture for two (2) minutes. Reduce
speed to low and add baking powder, baking soda, salt and vanilla. Add 2 cups of the flour 1 cup at a time allowing for blending
into mixture. Remove from mixer and mix by hand the remaining flour. Add the milk chocolate chips and peanut butter chips,
mix well. Scoop 1" balls of cookie mixture onto a greased cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until
lightly browned.
Yields 4 dozen cookies.
CRAFTS
Simple Patriotic Plant Pot
Supplies needed:
An unglazed terracotta plant pot
Red, white
and blue acrylic paint
Brushes
Paint the rim of the flowerpot white and the lower part of the pot blue
(or paint the rim blue and the lower part white). Let the paint dry.
A second coat may be needed, especially for the
white paint.Paint white stars on the blue portion. Paint red stripes on the white part.
Stars and Stripes Shirt
You will need:
· Cotton or cotton-blend T-shirt
· Red and blue fabric paints
· Paint brush
· Stiff
paper or light cardboard for star templates
· Heavy aluminum foil or shirt size cardboard
· Pencil
· Scissors
· Masking tape - 2 inch wide
Directions:
Prewash and iron the T-shirt.
Fold the T-shirt in half lengthwise
to find the center; mark with tape. Place foil or cardboard inside the shirt to stiffen the fabric and protect the back. Smooth
the front of the shirt flat.
Cut off a strip of masking tape a little wider then the width of the shirt. Place it
across the front of the shirt so the bottom of the tape meets the bottom of both sleeves. Place another strip of tape down
the center front of the shirt between the previous tape and the bottom of the shirt. Measure 2-inches on each side of the
center tape and mark lightly with a pencil. Place two more strips of tape with the edges along your marks so all strips of
tape are 2-inches away from each other. Continue placing strips of tape in this manner across the shirt. These will be your
guidelines for painting the stripes.
Cut a star out of a piece of light cardboard. Use this star template to trace
a star in the center of the shirt above the stripes. Trace two more stars on each side and slightly above the center star.
Paint the stars with blue fabric paint. Paint the stripes between the strips of tape red. Let dry for several hours.
Remove the tape and the foil or cardboard from inside the shirt.
Press: Heat-set the paint if required by the paint manufacturer.
Test your Labor Day knowledge by taking this quiz!
LABOR DAY QUIZ
American Folk Song
I've Been Workin' on the Railroad
I've been workin' on the railroad,
All the live-long
day.
I've been workin' on the railroad,
Just to pass the time away.
Can't you hear the whistle blowin'?
Rise up so early in the morn!
Can't you hear the captain shoutin',
"Dinah, blow your horn!"
Dinah, won't you blow,
Dinah, won't you blow,
Dinah, won't you blow your horn, your horn?
Dinah, won't
you blow your horn?
Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah,
Someone's in the kitchen, I know!
Someone's
in the kitchen with Dinah,
Strummin' on the old banjo and singin'!
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