Remember the Laborists This Weekend

As most of y'all know, this is Labor Day Weekend. It is more than just a holiday to have a barbecue in your backyard and get drunk on beer. It is to celebrate the works of those who labor in this country. Those who are willing to get there hands dirty. I want to deviate a little and say this not only includes those in the factories, but everyone who works with their hands.
This includes, but not limited to, fast food workers, waitstaff, retail employees, housekeepers (commercial and private residence), hotel employees, the guy who put the steering wheel on your Chevy, the contractor who put the new roof on your house. I could go on, but ya get my point. For info on the history of Labor Day Weekend, click here.
In the Upper Peninsula of Michigan it is more than just a holiday. It is when thousands of people, Michiganders, Americans and international tourists, come to the Straits area to walk the Mackinac "Mighty Mac" Bridge. Construction on the Mackinac Bridge began in 1954 and was completed in Nov of 1957. Every summer the iron workers who worked on bridge construction have a reunion in Mackinaw City. Even though the first Labor Day Bridge Walk began in 1958 this is the year that will celebrate the bridge's anniversary. The iron workers who sweated to get that bridge up should be remembered. Especially the five men who lost their lives while working on the bridge.

• Five workers died during the construction of the bridge.
  Twenty-eight-year old Jack Baker and Robert Koppen died in a catwalk collapse near the north tower on June 6, 1956. Koppen's body was never recovered. For both it was their first day on the job.
  Diver Frank Pepper ascended too quickly from a depth of 140 feet on September 10, 1957. Despite being rushed to a decompression chamber the forty-six-year old died from the bends.
  Twenty-six-year old James LeSarge lost his balance on October 10, 1954 and fell into a caisson. He fell forty feet and likely died of head injuries caused by impact with the criss-crossing steel beams inside the caisson.
  Albert Abbott died on October 25, 1954. The forty-year old fell four feet into the water while working on an eighteen inch wide beam. Witnesses speculate he suffered a heart attack.
  All five men are memorialized on a plaque near the bridge's southern end. Contrary to folklore, no bodies are embedded in the concrete. [2] [3]

If you are traveling this weekend, whether to Northern Michigan or elsewhere, remember the service people. Teach your children manners and to speak to others courteously. Don't let them make messes and be loud in public places or the hotel you are staying. That goes for the adults too. Please, pick up after yourselves. Unfortunately some people think that because they are on vacation, manners are too.

I'll let ya in on a little secret. The service people in the towns that you frequent will talk about you behind your back. If your kid leaves messes throughout the hotel, if your kids are loud at a restaurant, if no one picks up after themselves, they will talk. But if you and your kids are well-behaved the hotel and restaurant staff will be glad to see ya come back. Sometimes we even tell the kids and parents what a nice young lady or gentleman the kid is when he is behaving. We think your kid is cute when he is well mannered. We don't think your kid is cute when they make a mess or are loud and you laugh and wonder why our eyes roll back in our heads. Remember to tip your waitstaff and housekeepers while on vacation. The housekeepers work their booties off. Happy Labor Day!