People visiting the Assateague National Seashore seemed to get the Labor Day weekend off to an unlucky start on Friday. However, all three accidents were preventable, using a bit of common sense. First, a male visitor was surf-fishing about a half-mile south of the public parking lot. He had had quite a fight with the fish on the other end of the line, and was excited about finding out what he had caught. He ran out into some rough surf, following his line. A breaker caught him, knocked him off his feet, and he ended up with a broken femur (thigh). The man was transported to Salisbury, via ambulance, to have his leg set. A second male visitor was surf-fishing for sharks. He had caught two, and was reeling in his third - but, he, too, decided to go into the surf to land the fish. He didn't see what kind of shark it was, but it bit his foot and severed a tendon and multiple veins. He, too, was taken by ambulance to the hospital to have his foot repaired - he stated he'll probably have a skin graft next weekend. The third accident is something that I blame on poor parenting. A family was in a van, driving along the Wildlife Loop near the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge headquarters building (it's on Assateague Island). They were driving around the wildlife loop with the rear side doors
open. A twelve-year-old boy saw something that caught his attention, and leaned out of the door for a better look. He fell out of the van and onto the road. The boy had scrapes, bruises, a lump on his head, and a concussion. He was taken to Nassawadox hospital for evaluation and then released. - Common sense. What's the point in having a brain and being able to think, if one does not use common sense?
***********************************
On 28 June 1894, the US Congress passed an act making the first Monday of September a legal holiday to celebrate the social and economic achievements of the average worker in the United States. The Labor Day holiday was actually created out of the labor movement in the late 19th century. The Industrial Revolution was at its height in the late 1800s. During this time, the average American worked a 12-hour day seven days a week in order to eke out a basic living. Even though many states prohibited it, children as young as five and six were forced to work in mills, factories and mines.
Because of the long hours, unsafe and unsanitary working conditions, and poor treatment by management, labor unions organized and workers began holding strikes and protest rallies. These events often turned into dangerous riots, with loss of lives. The idea of a labor holiday caught on as more and more people sought a peaceful way to protest for better working conditions and for an eight-hour work day. According to Linda Stinson (a former US Department of Labor historian), the holiday eveolved over time, but most historians emphasize one specific event. That event was a parade by Unions and a massive picnic that took place in New York City on 5 September 1882.
The New York City event didn't go smoothly. Chaos reigned during the parade, and the picnic and speeches after it were "overshadowed by an abundance of cigars and Lager beer kegs... mounted in every conceivable place," noted the US Department of Labor. While almost 25,000 union members and their families attended, it turned out to be a fairly disastrous Labor Day celebration.
More and more states decided to join the celebration of a Labor Day, and the United States Congress made it official in June 1894.
Americans, enjoy your Labor Day safely!
