A month after kids returned to school locally, Fayette County and the rest

of the nation finally bid the unofficial farewell to summer this Labor Day

Weekend.

The first observance of Labor Day is believed to have been a parade on Sept.

5, 1882, in New York, probably organized by Peter J. McGuire, a Carpenters

and Joiners Union secretary.

By 1893, more than half the states were observing a "Labor Day" on

one day or another, and a bill to establish a federal holiday was passed

designating the first Monday in September as Labor Day.

Labor Day has traditionally marked the end of summer and the return to school,

even though school districts, particularly in the South, have pushed back

the start of classes to early August in recent years.

Schools will be closed on Monday, which is a holiday for Fayette County

students and teachers. Most federal, state and local government workers will

also have the day off, except of course for those in public safety.

County and city offices will be closed throughout Fayette County, as will

all banks and post offices.

The Citizen offices will be open on Monday, however.

Stores won't be closed, as Labor Day sales are expected to draw thousands

of shoppers to Fayette Pavilion and The Avenue in Peachtree City.

Hundreds more will likely try to beat the heat in a darkened movie theater,

as the last weekend of summer boasts some big names like Reese Witherspoon

in "Vanity Fair," Josh Hartnett in "Wicker Park" and

Queen Latifah in "The Cookout."

In Coweta County, the annual Powers Crossroads Festival is expected to draw

thousands of visitors to a site on Ga. Highway 34 between Newnan and Franklin

just as it has each Labor Day Weekend for many years. For more on Powers

Crossroads, see the Weekend section in today's Citizen.