Labor Day was this past Monday and that meant a few things. One, the kids were going back to school the next day and more importantly for the small port town I live in, the tourists were leaving! Yes, they do allow for local businesses to pay the bills throughout the year and most are good people but some can sure be a pain in the back side on occasion.
Another tradition for Labor Day that isn't around anymore was the Jerry Lewis Labor Day telethon to benefit muscular dystrophy. From Sunday through Monday, it was on the idiot box. Twenty four hours of some really bad entertainment but was going for a good cause. From the telethon, the way back machine takes us to the mid 1970's when it offered kids an opportunity to help the cause in the form of each kid putting on a back yard carnival. You contacted the telethon and they sent you a kit with signs, tickets, badges and tips of how to put on a backyard carnival. Maybe it was a prelude to my sister's public relations career but she was the leader of ours as I recall. We lived in a very large neighborhood in Farmington so getting a crowd to attend wasn't too hard. I can't recall what games we created or if there was a talent show but I do remember that McDonald's was a sponsor of the kits and you could arrange to sell their outstanding orange drink at the carnival. I loved that sugar water! I don't believe they sell it anymore as it was probably not good internally for anyone (it was more or less orange syrup) but it tasted better than anything out there.
I doubt we made much of a donation (betting the parents kicked in a few bucks) but entrepreneurship was alive and well in Farmington back in the 1970's.
Trail Head
