In 1894, Congress passed a Law making the First Monday of September a National Holiday.

Celebrating The Work Force and All Those Who Struggled To Fight For The Rights Workers Have Today!

Let Us Not, Or Our Kids, Forget Those Who Have Fought For Our Rights.

(The Story You Are About To Read Is Fictional. The Characters Names Are Real, And Are Of Those Who Have Lead The Fight For Equality In The Work Force.)

The Labor Day Campers

(Full Audio Version Of The Story Is Located At The Bottom)

Every Year during the Un-official end of summer, Labor Day, Mr. Peter McGuire and Ms. Mary Harris would take a group of kids from their, “It Can Be Done! A Good Summer for All”, program camping.

This program provided kids whose parents worked all day but couldn’t afford to send them to summer camp, or hire anybody to watch them, a place where they could go during the summer. Peter and Mary worked hard all year gathering supplies and receiving donations to make sure these kids had plenty of activities to do during the summer.

One of the activities kids could volunteer to help with was a community garden. Twice a month on weekends, these kids would venture over to the community garden and pull weeds, water plants, turn the compost piles, picked vegetables and flowers, some even helped bake fresh bread with ingredients from the garden. Then they would put together care packages. .

These care packages were then distributed to people of the community that needed a little help. Some were to the elderly that didn’t have enough money to buy fresh vegetables from the store. Some were to single mothers with young children. Some were for people from other countries who didn’t have much of anything and just needed some help feeding their family.

Mr. McGuire and Ms. Harris knew that the kids who volunteered to help at the community garden worked super hard all summer and wanted to reward them by taking them on a long camping trip. Ms. Harris made sure that all the kids got excited to go camping had a vote as to which campground they would go visit and which activities they were going to get to do. Mr. McGuire oversaw setting all the plans in motion for the camping trip and even organized a surprise for the kids.

The day of the camping trip arrived and Mr. McGuire, Ms. Harris and the kids all arrived at the campground. As they entered the campground and started making their way to their campsite a crazy thing started happening. People from each campsite were all standing by the side of the road waving, clapping, and cheering at them as they passed. Some had signs reading “It Can Be Done! You Got It Done!” and “You Gave Bread and Roses Too!” another read “Volunteers, the people who gave their weekends”. All smiles, Mr. McGuire, Ms. Harris, and the kids drove by all waving back to the people cheering.

They finally made it to their campsite and all the kids hopped out of the Van. They noticed baskets filled with games, books, candy, and toys sitting around their campsite. Each one of them had their names on them. César, one of the boy volunteers, looked to Mr. McGuire and Ms. Harris and asked what was going on?

Mr. McGuire said, “Isn’t it obvious? You worked very hard all summer helping those who needed help. They are honoring all you have done for your community.”

Ms. Harris followed up saying, “My dear kids, Mr. McGuire and I are so proud of you all for learning and volunteering your time, we want you to have a great time camping, now go, get your own gift baskets, you’re done working in the mines.” She laughed to herself.

Right then, César, Nelson, Samuel, Frances, Esther, Dolores, Addie, Lucy, and Luisa all gathered around the two of them and presented Ms. Harris a card. “This is from all of us”, César said. Then they all ran off to see what was in their gift baskets.

Mr. Peter McGuire and Ms. Marry Harris opened the card. It simply read…

“Thank You! Thank you for being like a Father and Mother to us! Happy Labor Day!”