Labor Day is this coming Monday; many consider it 'the unofficial end of summer.' When I was growing up, our schools didn't even start until after Labor Day; it was simply 'too hot' because our schools weren't "air conditioned' way back then.
Officially, Labor Day is a celebration of the American labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of the workers who made America the greatest industrial society in history. This holiday serves as a national tribute to workers' contributions to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.
Congress declared Labor Day a federal holiday in 1894, even though thirty states already celebrated the holiday. Congress enacted, and President Grover Cleveland signed into law, the holiday legislation to help end the Pullman (railroad car) Company labor strike in which 30 American Railway Union members died at the hands of the US Marshals while attempting to enforce a federal court injunction against the union.
That sounds like a sad reason to enact a holiday; but if you've not noticed, many of America's holiday observances are in response to sad events, and in many cases the losses suffered in those events. But out of tragedy and loss, Americans stand up and come together and overcome diversity and hardship. And at the front of such efforts are American laborers who apply their skills and hard work to bring us back to the point that we can celebrate.
So, as you enjoy this holiday, wrapping up this short last summer vacation time, perhaps boating at the lake, camping in a park, or driving across our nation to see relatives, let's all remember the American 'working men and women' who have contributed so much, including building the dams that impound those lakes, preserving our parks and forests, and constructing those roads and highways, along with every other effort in building the society and nation we all love, this "Home of the Brave and Land of the Free."