MANSFIELD — It was the kind of event Peter J. McGuire and Matthew Maguire envisioned for Labor Day.
Some records show that in 1882, McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a co-founder of the American Federation of Labor, suggested setting aside a day for a “general holiday for the laboring classes” to honor those “who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold.”
Many suggest that machinist Maguire, not McGuire, founded the holiday, according to the U.S. Dept. of Labor website.
Recent research seems to support the contention that Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, New Jersey, proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York.
Regardless of who gets the credit, the annual Labor Day Parade in downtown Mansfield, sponsored by the Mid-Ohio Area Labor Council AFL-CIO, stepped off at 10 a.m. under perfect blue skies and pleasant temperatures at the five-way light at Marion Avenue and Park Avenue West.
There were floats provided by labor unions, including the United Steelworkers Local 169, Laborers Local 1216 and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 688.
There were elected officials and those seeking elected office, as well as organizations seeking voter approval for levies in November.
There were police officers, sheriff’s deputies, corrections officers and firefighters, almost of them members of unions.
There were children and families along the parade route, which stretched down Park Avenue West and then turned north on Walnut Street, ending at Richland Carrousel Park.
But that fun wasn’t over there.
A line quickly stretched out for free hot dogs, chips and drinks, provided by organized labor. Face-painting began. Free rides on the iconic downtown carousel were enjoyed.
“This is what it’s all about,” Mid-Ohio Area Labor Council AFL-CIO Norm Shoemaker said.
(Below are photos and a video from the annual Labor Day Parade in downtown Mansfield.)
