Thanks to the family on Holden Road, for laboring over each of these plywood letters to bring Labor Day yard art for all of Greensboro to enjoy. Hot dog, hamburger, a few flags, and the words "Labor day" all come together to remind us that today is the last federal holiday of summer. If you want to see this fun decoration for yourself head down Holden Road from Friendly Avenue to the Starmount neighborhood, just across from Starmount Country Club and on the same side of the street as Christ United Methodist Church.
Labor Day, always the first Monday of September, was first celebrated in the U.S. in 1882. Historically, the holiday was celebrated first with a parade to exhibit solidarity and strength of labor organizations and trade unions followed by a festival for workers and their families. North Carolina is a right-to-work state so labor unions are prohibited by law and the holiday does not have the same character as it does in states like West Virginia where, historically, unions have been strong (read more here).
In North Carolina on Labor Day you will find families spending time at cookouts or returning home from a weekend of fun. Whether your are pro- or anti- union, we hope that you actually got an extra day off and that your weekend was everything you'd hoped for. A little mustard on our hot dog above qualifies us to post of Mellow Yellow Monday, where the beloved primary color (that makes green & orange possible) reigns supreme. By the way, don't you think "Oh Holden Road" is as catchy as "On Golden Pond?"
...I was intrigued by the fact you have a "Friendly" street (or is it a neighbourhood?)
Posted by: Lesley | Monday, September 06, 2010 at 07:48 AM
Lesley: We have a Friendly Avenue that is one of the longest road/avenue/streets in the city. It runs east/west. The name comes from the Quaker College, Guilford College, a few miles west of Greensboro. According to Guilford College's website, the college remained largely isolated from the time of it's construction in the 1830's. In the 1920's, the began calling the trail into Greensboro "Friendly" because the Quakers, students, and townspeople had such a good relationship. Hence, one could take the Friendly Road/Avenue. (extracted from: http://www.guilford.edu/about_guilford/).
Posted by: Greensboro Daily Photo | Monday, September 06, 2010 at 09:52 AM
Good Labor Day to you, too!
Posted by: pagan sphinx | Monday, September 06, 2010 at 12:23 PM
What a fun tribute to the Labor Day holiday this family has!
Thanks for sharing it with us!
At 65, I've done it! My poetry book - Life's Journey by Carmen Henesy - is out on Amazon! ( Poems about the things that have been important to me in my journey through life, some humorous, some sad, some that may have meaning to you as well )
http://www.amazon.com/Lifes-Journey-1-Carmen-Henesy/dp/1451547366/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274652997&sr=1-1 ( Go to the site and click on reviews to see what folks think about my book! )
Posted by: Carmen Henesy | Monday, September 06, 2010 at 03:22 PM
I would assume that the construction of these signs/letter was 'labor' intensive. Thanks for sharing: )
Posted by: barbara farr | Monday, September 06, 2010 at 06:27 PM
Quakers, of course! What a lovely connection. Thanks.
Posted by: Lesley | Monday, September 06, 2010 at 08:25 PM
Alas, the Quakers at the College do not celebrate Labor Day
Posted by: Don Bosco | Monday, September 06, 2010 at 11:51 PM
Interesting irony that our conversation would come around to Quakers on Labor Day all because We headed South on Holden Road, From Friendly Avenue to get to the spot where this photo was taken. Is it true that Quakers do not celebrate Labor Day? Was Guilford College open on Monday, September 6th?
Posted by: Greensboro Daily Photo | Tuesday, September 07, 2010 at 12:31 AM
Is this the same house that always has a display for all your holidays? I remember you posted something similar, but I don't remember for which holiday. Valentine's Day?
We celebrate our Labor Day on May 1, like many other countries. In fact, the U.S. is still the only country I know which has it on Sept 1.
You might like to visit my post from yesterday. We watched a play last week and the post is about it. :)
And you asked about "my" Alcatraz. It was a running joke of "Louis" when I had a series about the vacation we took on a resort island here. You can see our luxurious "Alcatraz" here.
Posted by: Hilda | Tuesday, September 07, 2010 at 05:15 AM
Whoops, your comment box doesn't allow html tagging. So here's the long url of the resort island posts: http://manila-photos.blogspot.com/search/label/Bellarocca
Posted by: Hilda | Tuesday, September 07, 2010 at 05:17 AM