Fountain area celebrates 49th annual Labor Day festival

Many people observing Labor Day in Fountain wonder if the constant struggle to earn a living will take them out of a celebrating mood.

Attendees at the 49th annual Fountain Fall Festival, a parade and gathering at Metcalfe Park held Monday, reflected on pay that doesn’t keep up with the rising cost of living; college graduates who find employment hard to obtain; and American jobs being transferred overseas.

Tom Downing, president of the Fountain Valley Chamber of Commerce, believes that trend is changing locally.

“Employers are fighting for the same labor,” he said. “The unemployment rate is low and competition for jobs is strong. We have good jobs available but not as many qualified people to fill them. As a result, employers are paying more to keep their workers or to hire them. Some people who have skills are going to earn a higher wage.”

The subject was on the minds of several people attending Monday’s holiday event.

“It’s not as easy as it used to be to get quality work, quality professions, unless you plan it out,” said Phyllis Schmidt. “I’m hoping things will turn around with our economy. I’m also hoping people can earn enough to retire on and have a decent living.”

“I think they’ll head in the right direction as far as what they need to do, how to go about it, to survive in this society,” said Sonni Lancaster.
“Because I love the job that I do, I try to move on and go forward with it,” said Donna Jones. But I think that we need to get paid more. We deserve it.”

“I do worry about when my kids get to that age, all I can do is help prepare them for the future,” said Dan Klopotek. “We all work hard for what we’ve got.”