VALDOSTA — One thing most people don’t plan to do on Labor Day is labor.

“We really don’t do anything around here to observe it,” said Joanna Sands, a Dalton resident. “Maybe up north it’s a big deal. I don’t know. It’s just a day off from work.”

From its origins as a celebration of America’s workers, Labor Day has evolved in the SunLight Project areas of Valdosta, Dalton, Thomasville, Milledgeville, Tifton and Moultrie, Ga., and Live Oak, Jasper and Mayo, Fla., into a “last day of summer” event better remembered for cookouts and time off.

 

Early years of bitter struggle

The roots of Labor Day lay in the Gilded Age, the late 19th century when relations between laborers and company management often flared into violence, said Dr. Catherine Oglesby, a professor of history at Valdosta State University.

“You had events such as the Homestead Strike and the Pullman Strike,” she said. 

The Homestead Strike of 1892 pitted striking steel mill workers against private security guards and the Pennsylvania state militia with fatal results; the Pullman Strike of 1894 saw employees of the Pullman Company, America’s leading manufacturer of passenger sleeping cars for railroads, fighting layoffs and low wages in a strike that cost at least 30 lives and was put down by the U.S. Army.

Oregon had declared a state Labor Day in 1887. A Labor Day parade had been staged in New York City in 1882 by local trade unions. Following the deadly Pullman strike, Congress decided to make Labor Day a national holiday; President Grover Cleveland — the same president who had ordered the Army to break the strike — signed the Labor Day proclamation six days after the strike collapsed.

The holiday’s date was set for the first Monday in September. A separate International Worker’s Day on May 1 had been declared in 1891 by a coalition of socialist and nascent communist groups. Oglesby said some historians believe Cleveland wanted any date for Labor Day other than May 1 to avoid being linked with communism, but she thinks otherwise.

“I believe that the president and Congress were simply following the precedent” of states and cities that had already declared Labor Day holidays, she said. 

Oglesby said not many people think about the holiday’s origins.

“People seem less interested in Labor Day as a worker’s movement than as the last day of summer,” she said.

 

How to spend a holiday

Kimberly Griffin was prepping a sausage dog with slaw on the side for a customer Tuesday in Valdosta but she was already plotting out her Labor Day.

“Going to be hanging out at the river,” she said while working at Autry Bar-B-Que on South Patterson Street. “Both the Withlacoochee and the Alapaha.” 

Fishing and hanging out at a fish house were high on her agenda.

One of her customers, Stacey Everett of Valdosta, planned to kick back and relax when the holiday arrives Sept. 4.

“I work 12 hours a day” at Langdale Forestry, he said. “I just want to recuperate a little bit.”

Another customer, David Williams, also of Valdosta, wants to spend Labor Day in Florida with family.

“We have a lot on Cherry Lake (in Madison County, Fla.),” he said. “It’s a good way to cool off.” 

Inner tubes on a river and a cookout also come into play, Williams said.

In Thomasville, Gail Dixon plans to take full advantage of the holiday. 

“I get to rest,” she said. “Do you hear me? I’m going to sit in my recliner if my husband lets me.”

If not resting in her recliner, Dixon wants be on her front porch.

Diane Detweiler will be industrious on Labor Day. 

“I usually am doing fall cleaning, spending the whole day at home,” she said.

On her three-day weekend, Lauren Radford will catch up on laundry and said she will “binge-watch ‘House of Cards.'”

Christy Owens said the holiday is a celebration of the American workforce and workers’ contributions to the country. Owens’ son, a Georgia Tech freshman, will be home Labor Day. 

“He’ll be coming home for the first time since taking him to school,” Owens said.

Dalton resident John Saylor said when he was a kid, Labor Day marked the end of summer.

“When Labor Day came around, we knew we’d be back in school in the next week or so,” he said. “But now, most schools around here start in August. It seems odd to get a day off after just a couple of weeks of school.”

Saylor said Labor Day still has some meaning.

“I know you don’t wear white after Labor Day,” he said. “I think that’s right. Maybe you don’t wear white before Labor Day.”

 

Jails remain open

While most people will be grilling, or having some chilled beverages — either of the children’s varieties or those geared toward adults — jails will be in operation, law-enforcement officers will patrol the roads and other first responders will respond to fire and medical calls, directed in most counties by 911 dispatchers on the job.

Hartsfield farmer Ricky Smith, 28, said his plans consist of “work and grilling” for the day.

On a recent Thursday he stopped by the Ameris Bank branch in Doerun before heading back to the field to continue his corn harvest.

“You’re proud of the people who serve you,” he said of the Labor Day holiday, including those in the military, paramedics, firefighters and police.

“I’m thankful for that. It’s like freedom, you’ve got your freedom and respect” for those who do those important jobs every day of the year, he said.

Crystal Livingston, who had just stopped off at the U.S. Post Office the same day in Doerun, said she likely will just relax on the final day of a three-day weekend.

“To be honest, I don’t have any plans,” she said. “Probably do as little as I possibly can.”

The Colquitt County Jail has been in constant operation for 27 years after its opening in June 1990.

“Our jail never closes,” Sheriff Rod Howell said. “Our jail staff is here on Labor Day and so is our road patrol. It’s usually a busy weekend.”

Prior to taking office as sheriff this year, Howell ran jail operations. Since Monday is his on-call day, he worked a fair share of holidays during his time in that position.

“I worked it many years,” he said of Labor Day. “We’re thankful to the ones who will be working.”

In Milledgeville, “I don’t have any plans, but I do feel that Labor Day is very important,” Elise Larkin said. “Labor is a big part of what we do in the United States, so celebrating that is a great idea.”

“We’ll probably be watching some football, drinking some beer, and coming downtown,” Brent Evans said. “I wouldn’t say it’s a really important holiday though; I usually make a point to work a little bit on Monday if I can.”

“I’ll be working because (my company) always grills out for Labor Day,” Matt Harris said. “I don’t get it off, but any day where people can get off work is a good reason. I actually don’t know a whole lot about the history of Labor Day … I’m pretty good about presidents, but if it was in the 1880s, I don’t know who that would have fallen under.”

CLOSINGS AND EVENTS

THOMASVILLE/THOMAS COUNTY

• Thomas County government offices, with the exception of emergency and law-enforcement services, will be closed.

• City of Thomasville offices will be closed Monday in observance of the Labor Day holiday. As a result, some city services will be affected.

• Energy Control Center — Regular 24-hour operational schedule.

• City of Thomasville residential refuse — Monday residential customers will be picked up Tuesday. Tuesday residential customers will be picked up Wednesday. Normal pick-up schedules will resume Thursday.

• Thomas County residential refuse — Thomas County residential customers will be picked up Tuesday.

• Yard trash — No yard trash pickup Monday. As yard trash pickups have no specific day assigned to any one residence or street, the holiday will not affect the pickup of any resident’s yard trash.

• Commercial refuse — No change to commercial customers’ pickup schedule.

• Country Oaks Golf Course — Open from 7:30 a.m. until dark Labor Day. Tee times are recommended.

• Regional Airport — Thomasville Regional Airport will be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Labor Day.

• Landfill — Open for normal hours of operation Labor Day.

• Thomasville City and Thomas County schools will be closed Labor Day.

• Thomas County Public Library headquarters will be closed Labor Day.

VALDOSTA/LOWNDES COUNTY

• All city and government offices will be closed on Labor Day.

• All of South Georgia Regional Library’s locations (Valdosta, Valdosta Southside, Hahira, Lowndes, Statenville and Lakeland) will be closed.

• The city’s sanitation division will collect residential garbage only on Monday. Those who normally have their garbage collected Mondays should place their recyclables and yard waste at the curbside by 5 a.m. Tuesday for both Monday and Tuesday collections.

• Deep South Sanitation will make garbage pickups Monday. The company’s drop-off site on Gil Harbin Industrial Boulevard will be closed.

• Advanced Disposal will make no garbage pickups Monday. Customers normally served on Monday will have their garbage picked up Tuesday. Routes will be delayed by one day the rest of the week. The drop-off sites at Pine Grove Road and Loch Laurel Road will be closed Monday.

• Holiday visitation day planned at all state prisons.

• Banks and credit unions will be closed for Labor Day.

• The Valdosta Daily Times’ business offices will be closed Labor Day. A reduced-staff newsroom and obits desk will remain open.

• Valdosta Regional Airport will remain open on Labor Day, although the Valdosta-Lowndes Airport Authority’s office will be closed. All Delta Airlines passenger flights between Valdosta and Atlanta will fly as usual.

• The Georgia Department of Transportation has suspended all lane closures for interstate work statewide through 5 p.m. Tuesday.

• Reed Bingham State Park in Cook County is planning a Labor Day Weekend Night Hike Sunday. Join a ranger for a night stroll down Coastal Plains nature trails. Meet at the trail head and remember to bring bug spray, a flashlight and comfortable shoes. Starts 7:45 p.m. Admission: $2. Parking fee: $5. Phone: (229) 896-3551.

• Wild Adventures Theme Park, normally closed on Mondays, will be open from 10 a.m.-7 p.m., while Splash Island, open 11 a.m.-6 p.m., offers the final day of its “Last Chance to Splash” as the swimming spot closes for the year.

• The Colbert Croft Memorial Labor Day Gospel Sing will take place Monday at Mathis City Auditorium, 2300 N. Ashley St. A free dinner starts at 3 p.m., followed by gospel music at 5 p.m. Featuring The Inspirations, the Troy Burns Family, the Johnson Two, the Backwood Boys, the Williams Two and New Tradition. For information, call (229) 251-6271 or (386) 303-1276.

MOULTRIE/COLQUITT COUNTY

• Colquitt County government and department offices will be closed.

• Moultrie and other city municipal government offices will be closed.

• Colquitt County Sheriff’s Office, the Moultrie Police Department and the Moultrie-Colquitt County Library will be closed.

• The Moultrie Observer office will close.

• Colquitt County Schools administrative offices will close.

• The Colquitt County Jail booking desk will remain open.

• Moultrie garbage trucks will operate for regular Monday collections.

• Colquitt County residential garbage pickup will operate for regular Monday collections.

TIFTON/TIFT COUNTY

• Administrative offices for the City of Tifton and Tift County will be closed for Labor Day.

• Law enforcement, fire response and EMS will be on duty.

• Golden Environmental will have trash pickup Monday. It is asking for all residents with a Monday pickup to have their trash and recycling out by 7 a.m. Tuesday.

NORTH FLORIDA

• Live Oak City Hall will be closed Labor Day. The household garbage will be picked up Tuesday.

• Suwannee County offices will be closed; however, the county’s solid-waste sites will be open 7 a.m.-7 p.m., Sept. 4.

• Branford Town Hall will be closed Labor Day and household garbage pickup will be Wednesday instead of Tuesday.

• All libraries in the Suwannee River Regional Library System, which includes three branches each in Hamilton, Suwannee and Madison counties, will be closed for Labor Day.

• The Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Fla., has planned a large Labor Day celebration for Sept. 1-4. Sunday night the trio Reminscin’ will be in the house with a soft blend of country and classic rock.

DALTON/WHITFIELD COUNTY

• Government offices, including those of the city of Dalton and Whitfield County, will be closed on Labor Day.

MILLEDGEVILLE

• No special events are planned in Milledgeville in honor of Labor Day this year.

The SunLight Project team of journalists who contributed to this report includes Will Woolever, Jamie Wachter, Patti Dozier, Charles Oliver, Kevin Hall, Natalie Linder, Eve Gueverra and writer Terry Richards.

To contact the team, email sunlightproject@gaflnews.com.

Terry Richards is the senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times. He can be reached at 229-244-1880 Ext. 1244.