Introduction: In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry features photos from the past showing how our ancestors celebrated Labor Day. Melissa is a genealogist who has a website, americana-archives.com, and a Facebook group, New England Family Genealogy and History.

Labor Day became an official federal holiday in 1884, when President Grover Cleveland signed it into law to honor the contributions of American workers. Today’s blog article looks back at the holiday’s history through photographs and newspaper archives.

1910: Labor Day Parade, International Typographical Union #172, First Prize

In 1910 the San Diego local International Typographical Union (ITU) branch participated in San Diego’s Labor Day celebrations and won first prize in the parade event. The ITU was a North American trade union for the printing trade of newspapers and other media. It was founded on 3 May 1852 in the United States as the National Typographical Union and changed its name in 1869.

1921: Labor Day Parade, Ladies Auxiliary to Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators, and Paperhangers of America, Local 53

In this photo of the Labor Day parade in Dallas, Texas, in 1921, we see the parade float from the “Ladies Auxiliary” of the Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators, and Paperhangers of Local Union 53. The parade took place on Commerce, Jackson, and Pearl streets.

1928: The ‘Evening Star’ Winners in the Labor Day Baby Parade

In 1928 the Evening Star newspaper published the winners and runner-up of the Labor Day Baby Parade. The photo captions read: (left photo) Margie Mae and June Marie, 3-year-old twin daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Joubert Mastbrook, 1276 Oates Street Northeast, winners of the cup and first prize of $50 given by The Star in the Labor Day baby parade; (right photo) Norma Giovanoni, 2-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. C. J. Giovanoni, 1405 Orren Street Northeast, winner of second prize of $25 given by The Star in the baby parade on Labor Day.

1930: The Light and the Serious Sides of Labor Day

Here are various scenes from Labor Day in 1930 right outside Dallas, Texas.

The photo caption reads:

There was fun and also there was business of a more serious vein Monday at Fair Park at the annual Labor Day celebration. The photographs show some of each. Women competed in some of the events, for example, the nail-driving contest and the foot race. At the upper right is shown fiery young Martin Dies, Orange, the Democrats’ nominee for Congress from the Second District, an office his father filled a little more than ten years ago. Railroad Commissioner Lon A. Smith of Austin is shown at the microphone in the picture at the lower right.

1931: Icarus High Upon the Empire State Building

Here is a photo from the “Men at Work, Labor Day Series.” Photographer Lewis Hine was hired to document the entire construction process of the Empire State Building in New York City, capturing the daily labor, risks, and triumphs of the ironworkers.

1933: Francis Lyons Wins Labor Day Race at 16 Years Old!

In 1933 the Lyons family of Roslindale and West Roxbury, Massachusetts, which included five brothers, two sisters, and cousins, came to cheer on Francis Xavier Lyons, son of Martin Cuniff and Delia Ann Cuniff, in the Labor Day Swim Race.

He won the race at 16 years old with a lead of 200 feet, competing against many older swimmers. In this photo we see Francis in the back row wearing a striped swimming suit at Burke’s Beach, Green Harbor in Marshfield, Massachusetts.

1934: Labor Day Parade, Worker from the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Union

This photo showing a proud union boilermaker marching with a youngster in a carriage during the 1934 Labor Day parade in San Francisco, California, “capsulates the deeply personal and generational nature of the 1930s labor movement, where workers explicitly marched to secure a better future for their families.”

During this massive parade down Market Street, tens of thousands of workers from dozens of localized trade unions, including the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, and Helpers, filled the streets to showcase their collective power.

It was not an easy year for the workforce or the city of San Francisco. In July of 1934 some 125,000 to 150,000 workers across San Francisco and the greater Bay Area walked off their jobs, shutting down the city.

1942: Labor Day Parade, Pressed Steel Division, United Auto Workers Union

This photo is from the 1942 Labor Day parade in Detroit, Michigan. Held in September 1942, less than a year after the U.S. entered World War II, the parade focused heavily on defense production, national unity, and victory. Floats in the parade that year served as a powerful wartime demonstration of solidarity, featuring industrial workers and union members rallying behind the Allied war effort. This United Auto Workers Union float featured Uncle Sam beating an anvil that was bigger than he was. Note the banner: “Workers for Democracy.”

1944: Serviceman’s Twins Take It Easy with Mom on Labor Day

On Labor Day in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1944, these twins enjoyed the day with their mom.

This picture caption reads:

Twins Take It Easy – “And how better could you celebrate Labor Day?” ask these pretty year-old twins, pictured with their mother, Mrs. B. C. Wyatt. That is Katharine (Kitty) Sue at left, and Frances (Frankie) Ann at right – or is it just the other way ’round? Their father, T/Sgt. Wyatt, is stationed at George Field, Ill.

1954: Labor Day Jubilee Funds Youth Center

In 1954 the Jaycees held a Labor Day jubilee to raise funds for a youth center in Garland, Texas.

This photo caption reads:

Teenagers Loretta Lewis, left, and David Belote, far right, lend a hand in the building of the Garland Jaycees’ youth center in Municipal Park, a $25,000 project which will be completed from profits of the Jaycees’ ninth annual Labor Day jubilee. Second from left is Mrs. Sara Granger, Jaycette president, and Dr. Robert Day, Jaycee president.

Happy Labor Day!

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Note on the header image: Labor Day. Credit: https://depositphotos.com/home.html