Labor Day

The following local agencies will operate as listed on Labor Day. Washington County government All offices of Washington County government will be closed Monday in observance of Labor Day. County parks will be open and the swimming pool at Martin L. "Marty" Snook Memorial Park will be open from noon to 6 p.m. Early voting will be held from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the former PNC bank building at 128 W. Washington St. in Hagerstown....

In observance of Labor Day, The Herald-Mail business office will be closed Monday. It will reopen Tuesday at 8 a.m.  The Herald-Mail will publish on Labor Day.

Many Americans have forgotten the meaning of Labor Day and view it as nothing more than a way to mark the end of summer, a group of workers said last week as they toiled in 95-degree heat at the Ruth Ann Monroe Primary School construction site east of Hagerstown. Sheet metal worker Scott Clifford, 40, of Cumberland, Md., said he wished people would give the holiday the respect it deserves. "It would be nice, but it's not going to happen," Clifford said. "Labor built this country.

Some might think of Labor Day as the official end of the summer, but for others it is a day to honor what working people have done for the country for more than a century. “It's a celebration of our work force,” said Will Seilhamer, president of Associated Builders and Contractors Inc., Cumberland Valley Chapter, or ABC CVC. “All the men and women across the country, regardless of their affiliations, should be recognized for the hard work they put in that everybody kind of takes for granted.” ABC, according to its website at www.abc.org, is a national association with 74 chapters, including the one in Cumberland Valley, and more than 22,000 firms related to construction.

It seemed like only yesterday we lit that flame. And now, as August ends, it's going out. When the fire is going, the world seems like a whole different place. People like each other, celebrating life. There are competitions. Folks from all walks of life come together as one. And it usually ends with one big party with a lot of old music rocking. No, this isn't about the Summer Olympics. That happens once every four years. This is all about summer, period.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- Berkeley County Magistrate W. Randy Smith, recently a winner of a $79 million Powerball jackpot, will step down from the bench on Labor Day. Smith, 63, of Martinsburg, made his resignation effective Sept. 6. In a memo faxed Friday afternoon to 23rd Judicial Circuit Chief Judge David H. Sanders' office, Smith said he "immensely" enjoyed his time as magistrate. As chief judge, Sanders is responsible for appointing a replacement for Smith, who served two four-year terms as Berkeley County sheriff before being elected magistrate in 2008.

Begun in the 1880s as a way to exhibit the strength of labor and trade organizations, Labor Day used to be more clearly defined. In days gone by, public schools rarely started classes until after Labor Day. Colleges operated on a fall-spring semester schedule that traditionally got under way toward the end of September. Most families begin settling into a routine that signals the end of summer and beginning of fall on that first Monday of the month - earlier bedtimes for children, less TV, more homework, and so on. Even fashion rules used to be strictly delineated by Labor Day. At Lena's of Hagerstown, at 1 W. Franklin St., many customers still adhere to the time-honored rule about not wearing white after Labor Day. "It depends on the customer," said Pat Wolfe, a sales representative at the dress shop.

It seemed like only yesterday we lit that flame. And now, as August ends, it's going out. When the fire is going, the world seems like a whole different place. People like each other, celebrating life. There are competitions. Folks from all walks of life come together as one. And it usually ends with one big party with a lot of old music rocking. No, this isn't about the Summer Olympics. That happens once every four years. This is all about summer, period.

Some might think of Labor Day as the official end of the summer, but for others it is a day to honor what working people have done for the country for more than a century. “It's a celebration of our work force,” said Will Seilhamer, president of Associated Builders and Contractors Inc., Cumberland Valley Chapter, or ABC CVC. “All the men and women across the country, regardless of their affiliations, should be recognized for the hard work they put in that everybody kind of takes for granted.” ABC, according to its website at www.abc.org, is a national association with 74 chapters, including the one in Cumberland Valley, and more than 22,000 firms related to construction.

Washington County All Washington County government offices will be closed on Monday in observance of the Labor Day holiday. Parks: County parks will be open and the swimming pool at Martin L. “Marty” Snook Park will be open from noon to 6 p.m. County Commuter: County Commuter Transit services will not operate Monday. Operation will resume Tuesday. Landfill: The Forty West Landfill and all transfer stations will be closed Monday, but will operate on a normal schedule Tuesday.

In observance of Labor Day, The Herald-Mail business office will be closed Monday. It will reopen Tuesday at 8 a.m.  The Herald-Mail will publish on Labor Day.

Labor Day might be an American holiday, but Hagerstown resident Jack Martin, who has traveled to every state in the country except for North Dakota, will be leaving the country for part of the holiday weekend with his wife. “We're going to Nova Scotia (in Canada) to see the Bay of Fundy,” he said. “We're going up to New Hampshire, check in there, and then we're going to drive from there up into Maine, and go across and drive the back side into Nova Scotia.” Martin, 72, will be one of about 659,000 Marylanders projected to travel at least 50 miles round trip away from home during Labor Day weekend, according to a news release from AAA online at http://midatlantic.aaa.com . More than 571,00 of those traveling are expected to do so by automobile, which Martin, who travels frequently, said he does not mind doing.

On Monday, we celebrated Labor Day. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity and well-being of our country. The Labor Department goes on to say the first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union.

As summer is coming to a close, another Labor Day is approaching. As I watched a crew of workers laying macadam on a blistering hot summer day, it was impossible not to admire their endurance and iron will to finish the job. All over the world, there are laborers using a variety of skills that make our lives more pleasant. Many of us will not or cannot do the dirty, nasty or dangerous jobs that they do every day. But we can let them know that they are important and that we appreciate their labor.