A mind always employed is always happy.  This is the true secret, the grand recipe, for felicity.  ~Thomas Jefferson

• In 1893 workers for the Pullman Railroad Car Company went on strike to protest having their wages lowered while their rents remained the same amount. President Grover Cleveland called in the military and violence erupted resulting in 30 deaths, 57 injuries, and 80M dollars in property damage. To appease the workers, President Cleveland hurried members of Congress to make Labor Day a federal holiday in 1894. Twenty-three years later the Adamson Act would establish the eight-hour workday and forty hour work week that became the standard here in the United States.

• As of May 2015 retail salespeople and cashiers account for the largest segment of the labor force. Despite low wages, these workers are required to put in long hours as big sales are now tied to national holidays such as Labor Day and Black Friday. So much for having the day off.

• Wearing white after Labor Day has long been a fashion faux pas, but historians believe it has more to do with status. In the early 20th century white was the chosen color for wealthy people who could afford to travel to warmer climates. Photos from the 1930s show working people in dark, drab clothing, while the more affluent wore white linen suits and Panama hats.