NORFOLK, Va. — Labor Day is a time set aside to celebrate the achievement of American workers.
It often comes with sunny day traditions, from parades to cookouts, and maybe even one last trip to the beach to cap off the summer.
If you go back to 1985, many of those traditions were the same across Hampton Roads.
In Norfolk, there was an annual Labor Day parade where workers’ unions from all over the region walked with pride through the downtown streets. 1985's parade included a first-year appearance for the Norfolk Federation of Teachers, with a float they made and paid for themselves.
Both then and now, no Labor Day would be complete without seeing beefed-up police patrols on the roadways.
In 1985, Operation C.A.R.E. had Virginia State Police nabbing speeders and drunk drivers through the four-day stretch surrounding Labor Day.
A picnic is another time-tested staple. In 1985, we featured one on the Peninsula that was hosted by a young, up-and-coming politician.
At the time, Bobby Scott was a state senator, still eight years away from being elected U.S. Congressman.
13News Now also reported on family picnics at the park that Labor Day.
That year we featured Elizabeth Oldaker, an immigrant from then-communist Romania, who offered perspective while spending time with her grandson in Norfolk.
“Here, you can pick your job and you are free to do what you want to do,” she told reporters. “Over there you are not. The [Romanian Government] tells you what to do.”
Almost four decades later, we should still try and make time to appreciate those freedoms often taken for granted.