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Following the end of the Civil War, many communities set aside a day to mark the end of the war or as a memorial to those who had died. Some of the places creating an early memorial day include Sharpsburg, Maryland, located near Antietam Battlefield; Charleston, South Carolina; Boalsburg, Pennsylvania; Richmond, Virginia; Carbondale, Illinois; Columbus, Mississippi; many communities in Vermont; and some two dozen other cities and towns. These observances coalesced around Decoration Day, honoring the Union dead, and the several Confederate Memorial Days.

According to Professor David Blight of the Yale University History Department, the first memorial day was observed in 1865 by liberated slaves at the historic race track in Charleston. The site was a former Confederate prison camp as well as a mass grave for Union soldiers who died in captivity. The freed slaves reinterred the dead Union soldiers from the mass grave to individual graves, fenced in the graveyard and built an entry arch declaring it a Union graveyard. This was a daring action for them to take in the South shortly after the North's victory. On May 30, 1868, the freed slaves returned to the graveyard with flowers they had picked from the countryside and decorated the individual gravesites, thereby creating the first Decoration Day. A parade by thousands of freed blacks and Union soldiers from the area was followed by patriotic singing and a picnic.

The official "birthplace" of Memorial Day is Waterloo, New York. The village was credited with being the place of origin because it observed the day on May 5, 1866, and each year thereafter. The friendship between General John Murray, a distinguished citizen of Waterloo, and General John A. Logan, who helped bring attention to the event nationwide, likely was a factor in the holiday's growth.

Logan had been the principal speaker in a citywide memorial observation on April 29, 1866, at a cemetery in Carbondale, Illinois, an event that likely gave him the idea to make it a national holiday. On May 5, 1868, in his capacity as commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, a veterans' organization, Logan issued a proclamation that "Decoration Day" be observed nationwide. It was observed for the first time on May 30 of the same year; the date was chosen because it was not the anniversary of a battle. The tombs of fallen Union soldiers were decorated in remembrance.

Many of the states of the U.S. South refused to celebrate Decoration Day, due to lingering hostility towards the Union Army and also because there were relatively few veterans of the Union Army who were buried in the South. A notable exception was Columbus, Mississippi, which on April 25, 1866 at its Decoration Day commemorated both the Union and Confederate casualties buried in its cemetery.

The alternative name of "Memorial Day" was first used in 1882. It did not become more common until after World War II, and was not declared the official name by Federal law until 1967 . On June 28, 1968, the United States Congress passed the Uniform Holidays Bill, which moved three holidays from their traditional dates to a specified Monday in order to create a convenient three-day weekend. The holidays included Washington's Birthday, now celebrated as Presidents' Day; Veterans Day, and Memorial Day. The change moved Memorial Day from its traditional May 30 date to the last Monday in May. The law took effect at the federal level in 1971.

After some initial confusion and unwillingness to comply, all fifty states adopted the measure within a few years. Veterans Day was eventually changed back to its traditional date. Ironically, most corporate businesses no longer close on Veterans Day, Columbus Day, or President's Day, with the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and/or New Years Eve often substituted as more convenient "holidays" for their employees. Memorial Day endures as a holiday which most businesses observe because it marks the beginning of the "summer vacation season." This role is filled in neighboring Canada by Victoria Day, which occurs either on May 24 or the last Monday before that date, placing it exactly one week before Memorial Day.

Labor Day is generally thought of as the end of summer -- the last hurrah.  School often starts the week after Labor Day.  So how did we end up with this end-of-summer holiday?

Labor Day is celebrated the first Monday in September.  It was created by the labor movement as a day of tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength and prosperity of the United States of America.

Historians aren’t one hundred percent sure who originally came up with the idea of Labor Day.

Some believe that Peter J. McGuire -- who was co-founder of the American Federation of Labor and served as general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners -- first suggested a holiday to honor American workers.  Other research suggests that machinist Matthew Maguire came up with the idea while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York.  (Maguire also served as secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Patterson, NJ.) With similar surnames and active involvement in labor unions, it’s easy to see how some confusion could arise.

In any case, the holiday was first celebrated on Tuesday, September 5th, 1882 in New York City with a demonstration and a picnic.  The second Labor Day followed on the same date in 1883.  By 1884, the Central Labor Union shifted the day to the first Monday in September -- as the idea had originally been proposed.  New York set the example for a “workingman’s holiday” and urged organizations in other cities to take up the date.  1885 saw Labor Day celebrated in many industrial areas around the United States.

Government recognition of the holiday came in 1885 and 1886, when municipal ordinances relating to Labor Day were passed.  States moved to secure Labor Day legislation; the first state to officially recognize Labor Day was Oregon in 1887.  That same year, four more states -- Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York -- made Labor Day official through legislation.  By the end of the 1880s, Connecticut, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania had official Labor Day legislation on the books.  By 1894, twenty-three states had adopted the holiday.  Congress officially adopted Labor Day for Washington, DC and the U.S. territories that same year.

Originally, Labor Day was intended to exhibit the strength of the trade and labor organizations -- through parades, festivals, demonstrations, speeches, and more.  So this year, don’t just think of it as summer’s last fling… think of Labor Day as a celebration of the people who work hard to make this country great.

Welcome to the official site of the hottest, largest most exciting motorcycle rally in the Northeast. Roar to the Shore is held annually the weekend after Labor Day in the neon painted town of Wildwood, New Jersey. Wildwood is host to the largest free beaches in the state of New Jersey and is know for its Boardwalk - full of amusement rides, water parks, games of chance and food galore. If you've never experienced the thrill of Roar to the Shore, it's time to take the ride to biker friendly Wildwood and see what the Garden State has to offer.

 We would first like to thank everyone who hung out with us this year through Hurricane Hanna and helped make 2008 another successful year. With your help, we were able to raise over $13,000 for the local chapter of the United Way. This money will go to help feed and cloth the less fortunate. You have proven that real bikers ride in the rain and when it comes to people in need your support is endless.

If you thought that 2008 was a great time - just wait until you see what we have planned for '09! We'll still have your standard favorites like the Poker Walk, Miss Roar to the Shore Contest and Annual Rubber Duck Boardwalk Ride; but this year we'll be adding some new activities and amping up our entertainment schedule.

We are expecting 100,000 to 150,000 bikes to attend this year's Roar to the Shore. Local authorities and area businesses, too, have been supportive and enthusiastic about the rally. Past rallies have been positive events, for the city and for the bikers and it's our goal to keep it that way. So get your bike gassed up, put the sunscreen in the saddlebag and make those calls now to get your rooms and campsites reserved, because Bike Week in Wildwood will be here quicker than you think! You're invited - to ride free by the sea, in biker friendly Wildwood.

One of the biggest Irish festivals in the country is held at the Jersey shore -- every September, Wildwood holds the annual Irish Fall Festival!  As many as a quarter of a million people celebrate their Irish heritage in Wildwood each year.  The Irish Fall Festival also coincides with a large classic car show on the boardwalk; so whether you’re a car lover or you want to celebrate your Irish heritage, the Irish Fall Festival is the place to be in September!

The particulars of the schedule vary from year to year, but you can expect to see vendors offering a variety of goods, crafts, and foods with an Irish touch all weekend long.  You’ll also be surrounded by live entertainment throughout town.  The pubs and taverns of Wildwood offer special Irish entertainment all weekend long.  Traditional music, modern Irish music, pipe bands, and much more.  And what’s music without a little dancing?  Watch the traditional Irish dances, or get up and join in the fun.

For the more sporting among us, take part in a golf tournament at the Avalon Golf Club or join the 5K run on Saturday morning.  On Sunday, expect a traditional Mass followed by an Irish Parade.  All weekend long, bus service is available for Irish Fall Festival visitors.

The Irish Fall Festival truly has become one of the premier Wildwood weekend events!  Proceeds from the Irish Fall Festival benefit many Ancient Order of Hibernians charities, as the event is organized by the Cape May County chapter.  For more information on this year’s festival, call 1-800-IRISH-91.

If you are planning to visit during the Irish Weekend in September, make your reservations NOW!  With a quarter of a million visitors fighting for prime space along the bus route, you’d better act fast… if you wait too long, the green you’ll be showing is the green in your wallet.