Everett’s Biggest Labor Day Parade
Thousands turned out to watch the impressive Labor Day pageant, where local unions showcased their strength and community spirit.
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The evil machinations of the weather man failed to dampen the ardor of the union men on Labor Day. Long before the time set for the big parade, Hewitt Avenue was lined on either side with spectators. Promptly at 10, the head of the column swung into Hewitt Avenue. At the head was Grand Marshal Gibbs and his chief aide, E.J. Edney. A conservative estimate of the number of men in line places it at 1,500. The electricians took first prize for their float, beautifully decorated with scores of electric lights and gongs. Later in the evening at Fraternal Hall, Sam Begent, an 82-year-old unionist who started as a candle maker's apprentice, was awarded a prize as the oldest union man in the city.
“Never before in the history of the city has the street pageant been so impressive nor so successfully conducted.”
Labor Day parades in early 20th-century Everett were major civic displays of power, meant to signal the permanence and scale of the labor movement in a burgeoning industrial town. Today, these parades are smaller, yet the tradition remains central to Everett's identity as a 'union town.'
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