1907 MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, was a gala day of parades, rallies, and baseball games as DeLand, for the first time, officially observed Labor Day, a national holiday established in 1894 to recognize contributions and achievements of American workers. In contrast to earlier years, when only banks and then the post office marked the holiday, in 1907 all businesses and government offices closed.

In the late 1800s, the average American worked 12-hour days and seven-day weeks to make a basic living. In mills, factories and mines, children as young as 5 or 6 earned a fraction of their adult counterparts’ wages. People of all ages, particularly the very poor and recent immigrants, often faced extremely unsafe working conditions. The idea of a “workingmen’s holiday” began in the more industrialized north and developed slowly in the agricultural South. In DeLand, carpenters organized first, early in the 1900s. 

The Carpenters Union led the first DeLand Labor Day parade when it formed at the corner of East Rich Avenue and North Pine Street at 8 am on a very warm day. Then came brick masons, plasterers and the federation of labor. The marchers stopped at the Volusia County Courthouse to hear speakers like Circuit Judge J.W. PERKINS and Volusia State Representative JAMES E. ALEXANDER. 

Many celebrants went to the Stetson University athletic field for an afternoon baseball game between the Carpenters Union and the Clerks Association. The day ended with a union-sponsored dance at the Putnam Hotel. 

Labor Day weekend now symbolizes the end of summer for many Americans and is celebrated with beach parties, street parades, and athletic events. Perhaps this year we will return to the original purpose, saying “Thank You” to all workers, but especially those who have been on the front lines of the pandemic. 

SOURCES: Digitized files of THE VOLUSIA COUNTY RECORD, DeLand Public Library; and The History Channel, History.com. The early 1900s photo of Judge J.W. Perkins, one of the Labor Day speakers, is from the Dreggors Collection in the WVHS Archives.