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September 09, 1998 Arts + Life » The Question

What Does Labor Day Mean? 

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“Okay, let me explain this to you: Memorial Day is the kickoff of the cookout season. Labor Day was invented to mark the end of cookout season so 'hammerheads’ won’t keep grilling into the winter. What’s a hammerhead? This guy from New Hampshire, the other day, asked me, ‘What’s that place where the ferry is?’ The dock, I said. ‘No, that’s not it.’ The lake? ‘Nah.’ Ethan Allen? ‘Yeah, that sounds right.’ He didn’t know, he just wanted to hear a name. That’s a hammerhead, and Labor Day marks the end of their cookout season.”

-Lenny Williams
Chef at Red Square, Burlington

“Giving thanks to the American Movie Channel for blessing me with a whole weekend of back-to-back Planet of the Apes movies. I was so excited I took Monday off and bought some books on relativity.”

-Diane Sullivan
Salesperson, Feet Street, Burlington

“What does Labor Day mean? Oh. I pretty much don’t know what it means. As far as I know it’s a holiday like they have every year. The only thing I can think of is it has something to do work-wise."

-Bruce Spaulding
Stocker, Kerry’s Kwik Stop, Burlington

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