Labor Day Memories Of A Mill Town Boy

What a beautiful holiday weekend we've had in most of Georgia. Refreshing easterly winds  bathed the state in moderate temperatures and filled the sky with puffy cumulus clouds one usually sees rolling in off the Atlantic. We had the pleasure of hosting our children for most of that time.  Much of our conversation this weekend focused not on work but on past holidays and recent world travel, on our large and diverse population of relatives, and on future plans. 

For about thirty of the 55 years of our dual career my wife and I were accustomed to working on weekends and most holidays. We worked so that others could enjoy their day experiencing some of the most significant natural and cultural resources in the nation.  We consider it an honor to have do so but at the same time have come to appreciate the opportunity to share and celebrate these special days with others. In sharing them with my children, in the quiet of the evening  I'm often left with memories of Labor Day picnics.

Those picnics were day-long affairs held by the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company to honor their employees and families on the workers' holiday.  The company had been the major employer in my hometown for three generations.  By 1960, the community and company were indeed a family and this day was their reunion.  With four to five thousand people in attendance it was a big event featuring plenty of food and beverages in addition to carnival rides, dancing, bingo and board games, swimming, model train rides, pony rides, softball, foot races and similar activities, real airplane rides at $2 a ride, and a playground filled with wonderfully dangerous equipment including the greasy pig, flying boats, two merry-go-rounds - one a center-pivot - and a very tall and fast sliding board. None of that equipment could approach today's safety standards. The big day ended with a free movie under the stars at the drive-in theater next door.

Although many of the kids I played with those days ended up working at the mill many of them went on to college, military service or other opportunities and adventures that took them away from small town life. In the long run I think those who left made the right decision. Today, the mill exists under another name, employs only a shadow of its former workforce, and no longer holds a Labor Day picnic.  It is a reflection of a community in decline, one left with vivid memories of better times. 

One item that does remain is the union wage and it's exceptionally good. Unfortunately the jobs are few and the quality of life in the entire region is wanting and now into its seventh decade of decline. Regardless, throughout my life, I've always made a point to family, friends, and colleagues that all work is honorable. Every employee, from minimum wage to executive salary, contributes to achieving organizational success. That college diploma still largely determines where one will fall on the earnings scale; however, that formula is changing rapidly. In fact, opportunities to develop skills beyond the academic campus have never been greater. Simply put, the American Dream may be closer to more employees now than ever. That should make many people very happy. If we could just find a way to resurrect an honest liberal arts curriculum in high school, I would be very pleased. It would anchor tomorrow's happy workers in the principles, ethics, and precedents necessary to understand, appreciate and perpetuate the best of the American experience as we have come to know it. Labor Days as I both remember and enjoy them today remain fine expressions of that experience. I hope you and your family enjoyed the holiday as well.