In honor of our National Holiday- Labor Day, we’d like to present to you some interesting facts and some beautiful jewelry that will pair nicely with the theme.

1. The Industrial Revolution of the 18^th century moved the basis of society off of an agrarian, rural economic system into a mechanized economic platform built on iron and textiles and would eventual give birth to the steel industry and urban development.
2. The existence of steel was ‘known’ for centuries by alloying iron with carbon, but the process was difficult and expensive to produce with primitive technology. British engineer Henry Bessemer was awarded a patent on November 11, 1856 for developing the first inexpensive process for mass producing steel.
3. American Abram Hewitt perfected the Bessemer process for American steel production. This contribution allowed America to quit importing steel after the Civil War and effectively ended the Iron Age.
4. By the mid 1830s it looked as if the rubber industry in America was going to fold due to the instability of the product. Charles Goodyear took the challenge to revolutionize rubber to overcome its flaws of being too brittle in winter and dissolving into a mess with summer heat. His reduced his family to poverty, but in 1844 he patented the process for vulcanizing rubber. Though hailed as a genius when he died he was $200,000 in debt. Happily, accumulated royalties from his patent eventually made his heirs solvent. Goodyear Tires was named in his honor, but has no direct association with Charles Goodyear or his heirs.
   • Van Scoy this great combination of stainless steel and rubber with these gent’s bracelet and cufflinks.
5. Traditionally, Peter McGuire, the secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, is recognized as the one who suggested a day to honor those who have built all that we see before us. However, others believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, who was also a secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York proposed the holiday in 1882.
6. It is known that it was the CLU that took the idea and ran with it, having the first celebration Sept 5^th 1882 and again the following year.
7. The first state bill to pass into law to honor Labor Day was in Oregon on February 27, 1887.
8. Labor Unions owe their basic format to guilds dating back to Medieval Europe- such as artisan (egs. Blacksmiths, cobblers) and merchant guilds. Their united purpose was to increase and stabilize the income for those who belonged to their guild.
9. Legislation reforms for industrial safety and fire prevention lead by Frances Perkins occurred as a direct result of an unfortunate tragedy in 1911 where 150 workers were killed in a fire due to management securely locking all the safety exits to ‘prevent loss of goods.’  Perkins would later become the first woman cabinet member in 1933 as Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Secretary of Labor.
10. Through these industrial shifts the family dynamic has changed too. While women still struggle for financial equality in the workplace today there is a returning emphasis on one parent remaining home with the child(ren). According to a recent article by MSN Money, “a census report released in April, there are approximately 176,000 stay-at-home dads, but 5 million mothers that stay-at-home.” Does this mean the stay-at-home parent isn’t contributing financially? NO! “In families where children are younger than 15 and both parents worked, average childcare costs have increased by 70% since 1985 -- jumping from $84 to $143 per week. In fact, in 36 states, the average annual cost of having a kid in daycare exceeds in-state college tuition, according to Child Care Aware of America, an information resource for parents and childcare providers.” Therefore, stay-at-home spouses are adding a significant financial savings when you consider the opportunity costs of working outside the home, but paying for childcare.

• Van Scoy has a large selection of family jewelry to help you find a gift to recognize the contribution of the stay-at-home mother in your life. Here are just two examples of contemporary, stylized chain slides and pendants symbolizing parent and child.

Van Scoy Jewelry also has a great summer sale right now if you are in the Triad area visit us for some great savings. Have a safe and happy holiday!