May Day - Union County, Kentucky 1902

 Organized labor celebrated May Day 1902 in Morganfield, Kentucky with a day of festivities. A look at the typical May Day activities is provided in the Evansville Journal News on Friday, 2 May 1902, page 1. 

May day was celebrated here yesterday by the different branches of organized labor. It was the most largely attended and widely represented celebration of the kind ever held in Western Kentucky.

The crowd assembled at Young's Grove early in the day. The committee in charge had everything in order before the crowd arrived. There were 30 head of sheep, 15 shoats, 15 lambs, 10 calves, 2 beeves for meats and these were barbecued by Tom Sparks, considered an expert in that line. The arrangements committee consisted of John Jarbeau, Henry Veach, James Threlkeld, James Sickling and Charles Morehead.

The following organizations participated in the festivities: Local 9757, composed of teamsters, painters, paper hangers, carpenters, bricklayers, machinists and laborers; 1123, U.M.W. of A., of DeKoven; 8989, Federation of Labor of Uniontown; 1414, U.M.W. of A. of Uniontown; 836, U.M.W. of Sturgis; 990, U.M.W. of Grangertown; 119, Federation of Labor, teamsters, of Sturgis.

The music for the occasion was furnished by the DeKoven corncert [sic] band, director and leader, Joe Young, C.P. Neggie, Ben Hieronymous, Fred Newcomb, William Walker, Jim Boettiger, S. Newcomb, F. Shipley, Wes. Ames, H. Spragues, C. Spragues, E. Ames and William McKinley.

The speakers for the occasion included E.P. Taler, of Owensboro, John Brashear, of Madisonville, Wm. Howell, and Judge Clements of Morganfield. Judge Clements made an appeal for Marshall Hubby, a boy about 17 years old who had lost his leg in an accident in one of the mines, and $150 was quickly subscribed for the purpose of securing an artificial leg for the lad.

The celebration of May Day in Morganfield was one of the most successful ever held in Western Kentucky. There was no liquor on the ground, but there were barrels of ice water and lemonade, and coffee was served hot to those who wanted it.

Another celebration will be held the 4th of July at Sturgis.

 Originally published 1 May 2016, Western Kentucky Genealogy, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/ and re-peated 14 Nov 2023.