September 2, 2019 (Monday)
It’s Labor Day and most people get off work today. The Rockport Beach has been crowded all summer long, but today’s crowds will outdo any record set so far this year. It always does.
It’s another anniversary as a preacher of the gospel for me–71 years of preaching.
The industrial revolution brought about the employment of many people in factories and businesses. Conflicts developed about working conditions and wages. When I worked for General Motors at Arlington in 1955-1956, I saw how management dealt with labor, and how the labor union leaders worked with the employees who joined the union.
I was a department clerk–a white collar worker. I had access to management and lesser contact with labor. Every morning I prepared a “manpower” report, showing how many people had reported for work and were on the assembly lines. Texas was fairly new to “labor vs management” scenarios, so the atmosphere was almost cordial among people from both sides.
Texas was different from other parts of the country where long-standing grievances of the employees were being dealt with by management with participation from the union leaders. In our Texas plant, we functioned mostly as a team, but in other parts of the country the situation was more like two competitive teams.
As manufacturing grew, Communism was eager to win the hearts of workers in the U.S.A. but I believe the Unions working in behalf of the labor force kept Communism from having any appeal to most workers. So we have Labor Day each year to remind us that everyone is needed and we depend on each other as Americans.
Labor Day used to be the last day of summer as far as Public School was concerned. We always started classes the next day every year. Nowadays you must obtain a school calendar to know what’s on the docket for faculty, administration, other workers and students.
I started school in 1937. The New London school disaster had taken place six months before and was still on the minds of people. The town is in East Texas near Tyler, Kilgore and Henderson. A gas leak caused an explosion that killed almost 300 students and teachers. Perhaps more.
Twelve years later I was attending college classes with a friend who grew up in New London, Texas. One day we drove there and visited with some of his family members. Even today, 82 years later, the subject keeps coming up. It certainly did on that visit in 1949, although few people seemed to want to talk about it.
The disaster is still the 3rd worst in Texas history, with the Texas City explosion and the Galveston hurricane and flood leading the list.
To reduce the damage of future leaks, the Texas Legislature began mandating within weeks of the explosion that thiols (also known as mercaptans) be added to natural gas. The strong odor of many thiols (stinky stuff) makes leaks quickly detectable. The practice quickly spread worldwide. If the smell of fuel gas makes you sick, just thank the Lord and the Texas Legislature of 1937.