City Spotlight on Carl: Have a Happy and Safe Labor Day Weekend

With thoughts of backyard barbecues and fun in the sun already swimming happily through the minds of many in Barrow County leading into the holiday weekend, we at Patch thought we’d pose the question: Do you know when, where and why Labor Day originated?

We all have the Central Labor Union of New York to thank for the first Labor Day, observed in Boston on Sept. 5, 1882. Unfortunately, a sad tragedy 12 years later led to the national observation of the holiday when more than a dozen strikers were killed and nearly 60 were wounded during clashes between railroad union members, U.S. Marshals and U.S. Army troops in the historic Pullman Strike of 1894.

President Grover Cleveland and Congress enacted a federal holiday within a week of the end of the strike in hopes of appeasing organized labor and staving off further incidents. Since that time, Labor Day has been observed the first Monday of September each year honoring the nation’s workforce and marking the unofficial end of summer. This upcoming Labor Day will commemorate 129 years to the day of the first Labor Day in the United States.

Mayor David Brock and members of the Carl Town Council wish all of the residents of Carl and Barrow County a happy and safe Labor Day weekend!

Check back every Wednesday for a new City Spotlight on Carl.

Source:  “Labor Day” Wikipedia – the free encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pullman_Strike (August 28, 2011)

“Pullman Strike” Wikipedia – the free encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_Day (August 28, 2011)

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