Henryetta holds 125th Labor Day celebration

Henryetta puts on one of the oldest Labor Day celebrations in Oklahoma. Part of those festivities include a parade down Main Street.

Children line the sidewalks waving American flags with ball caps and plastic bags ready to collect candy. Harper Sandburg from Tuttle and Avery Austin from Oklahoma City come every year.

"I like how I can just come down here, do the fish scramble, come to the parade, and see our great, great grandparents," Harper said.

The pair call it a Labor Day tradition and said this year is even more special. "We came out here for Henryetta's 125th Labor Day celebration," said Harper.

All the fun can sometimes make people lose sight of why they celebrate the holiday. It was established in the late 1800's to recognize the efforts of labor unions and activists who fought for better working conditions.

Paul Little, a member of the Local 64 Heat & Frost Insulators, said Henryetta had one of the very first labor unions in the state. "There were miners here back in the late 1800's and so that is why this Labor Day parade has always been here and it will always be here, as far as I know," he added.

To honor those workers Little and his chapter use their day off to give back.

"We have been coming out to Henryetta now for over 20 years and giving away free hot dogs," he continued, "It is something that we really enjoy. It is a labor of love."

One that continues to grow every year. "It seems like we used to give away a couple hundred, now we are up to about 400 hot dogs that we give out," Little said.

Each hot dog leads to a conversation on the importance of Labor Day and a newfound appreciation for those that made the holiday possible.

"Being able to do what is right for you and your family, have benefits, retire with dignity, with a pension plan...the child labor laws, the 40 hour work week, overtime laws, all that is what unions have fought for," Little said.

He adds even all these year's later the fight is still not over. "We are under attack these days and have been for a while, but we are not giving up."