Thank you, ag industry laborers

By MONETTE TAYLOR | South Central Texas Edition

Casey Self, 20, loads a truck bed with feed at the Farmersville Grain and Hardware store. He has worked at the store for four months. The Collin County business, which has been operating since 1938, is owned by Pete and Becky Campbell. -- Staff photo by Kari Kramer

Sept. 2, 2004 - After over 100 years, there is still a question concerning which man actually started the Labor Day holiday. According to information from the U.S. Department of Labor, some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor suggested honoring workers with a special holiday.

Other accounts give credit to Matthew Maguire, a machinist. This information cites the fact that Maguire, who was a secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882.

First celebrated in New York City on Sept. 5, 1882 ... a Tuesday ... the holiday was changed to the first Monday in September in 1884, and the Central Labor Union urged other organizations in other cities to recognize the "working man." By 1887, other cities and states started jumping on the band wagon to recognize workers and their families.

(Left) Fences are a necessity with livestock in Texas. Here, John Chester's Fencin' crew is in the first stages of a fence being built for JM Ranch in Winnsboro. Pictured are Chester (top, left) and crew members (from left) Adam Hood, Gaylon Younger, and Mike Boyd. Chester said in the six years he has been in the business they have built over 250 miles of fence for cattle, horse, goat, and other livestock owners. -- Staff photo by Lori Cope

Today, many of the "working men" honored on Labor Day still include agricultural producers, or others involved in helping support the needs of these people. The Texas Department of Agriculture says one out of every five Texans owe their jobs to the ag industry. Today's agribusiness industry is so diverse that 98 percent of the jobs within the industry are not on the farm or ranch.

In an effort to spotlight a few of the many who are involved in ag-related labor, Country World set out with notepad and camera in hand.