Labor Day parade showcases ‘work and work ethic’
By Ike Fredregill
Photo for the Mirror by Ike Fredregill Keeping in step, the Altoona Area High School Marching Band drum line beats a rythmic tattoo as the band’s brass plays traditional parade music.
Photos for the Mirror by Ike Fredregill International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local No. 5 workers and family members march behind their float Saturday during the Labor Day parade.
A member of the Blair County Federation of Democratic Women passes out candy Saturday during the Labor Day Parade.
Photo for the Mirror by Ike Fredregill Keeping in step, the Altoona Area High School Marching Band drum line beats a rythmic tattoo as the band’s brass plays traditional parade music.
Photos for the Mirror by Ike Fredregill International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local No. 5 workers and family members march behind their float Saturday during the Labor Day parade.
A member of the Blair County Federation of Democratic Women passes out candy Saturday during the Labor Day Parade.
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Flashing red and blue lights silently bounced off storefront windows Saturday as an Altoona Police Department patrol car led the Labor Day parade past Heritage Plaza.
"Everybody is here to showcase their pride for labor," said Bob Kutz, Blair-Bedford Central Labor Council president. "They're showcasing their work and work ethic, and it comes second to none."
In celebration of its 101st anniversary, the labor council hosted the parade as an ode to Altoona's working class and the unions representing them.
"We've been doing parades nearly every Labor Day for over 100 years," Kutz said. "We missed a couple due to wars, but pretty much, we're out here every year."
Saturday's parade entries -- 25 in all -- ranged from political platforms and first responders to union representatives and the Altoona Area High School marching band.
"The weather is gorgeous -- you
couldn't ask for a better day," Kutz said. "There's easily thousands of people in attendance this year. It's one of the best years we've had."
Across the lane, Vanessa Johnson cradled her puppy, Bruder, in her arms as she smiled and waved at the candy tossers in a passing float.
"I came down and brought the kids to watch," Johnson said. "They love all the candy, and I like how the unions and labor workers all participate in the parade."
While the first Labor Day Parade in the U.S. filled New York, New York, streets in 1882, it would take 12 more years and an economy-halting strike against working conditions and pay at the Pullman Palace Car Company before President Grover Cleveland signed a bill into law declaring Labor Day a national holiday in 1894.
More than 20 years later in May 1918, the Blair County Central Labor Union was formed.
Along 11th Avenue, Altoona resident Carlyn Bastian watched a troop of baton twirlers perform their dance routine as they cartwheeled by.
"This is our first year attending the parade," Bastian said. "Our daughter just went through with the high school marching band. We love it, and what a wonderful day for a parade."