The
first observance of Labor Day is believed to have been a parade
on Sept. 5, 1882, in New York City, probably organized by Peter
J. McGuire, a Carpenters and Joiners Union secretary.
By
1893, more than half the states were observing a "Labor Day" on
one day or another, and a bill to establish a federal holiday
was passed by Congress in 1894. President Grover Cleveland
signed the bill soon afterward, designating the first Monday in
September as Labor Day.
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Nancy Jo Powers
by
Judy (Earle) Waters
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After high
school, Nancy Jo majored in musical comedy at the University of
Illinois and graduated with a bachelor's degree in theatre. She
appeared in a number of musicals during those years and, after
graduation, she married. She then worked in television while her
husband worked in radio.
Her
brother, John (RIHS '60) was teaching at Oxford. Nancy Jo and
her husband decided to take advantage of her brother's being in
England, so they moved there, bought a car, and spent the next
ten months traveling in Europe. After returning to the U.S.,
they lived in Cleveland, Ohio for a short while.
It was
about that time that her marriage ended, and Nancy Jo decided to
move to the city she had always loved, Chicago. She had no job
there but knew she would find something, and she landed a
position at CBS in Chicago as a community liaison. She later
married a co-worker and eventually left her job to care for
their wonderful son, Beej, (nickname for Brian Jeffrey) born in
1978. CBS then moved them from Chicago to the Washington, D.C.
area.
Later on,
while with NBC, they returned to Chicago and lived there for two
and a half years.
Then, Nancy
Jo and her son moved back to Virginia. Although still very
young, Beej, by this time, was accustomed to a life that
included travel and museums, so Nancy Jo took him to London and
Paris for three weeks.
Fast
forward a few years, and we find Beej graduating from Virginia
Tech and going to work for Bill Kurtis Productions in Chicago.
On September 11, 2001, he was sent to New York to spend nine
days shooting at Ground Zero. This convinced him that he needed
to be back on the East Coast with family and friends.
Today,
Nancy Jo resides in McLean, Virginia and has been with Long and
Foster Real Estate for twenty years..."pretty much in the top
five percent of the nation in real estate," she adds. After
starting in 1988, just as the market was tanking, she had to
work hard to survive in her world. She prefers to maintain
close, long-lasting relationships with good clients.
Interestingly, she has shown property to Colin Powell, and the
son of the Shah of Iran is one of her clients. McLean is home to
many diplomats, members of Congress, and high-ranking government
officials, partially attributable to its proximity to
Washington, D.C. and the CIA. Nancy Jo often has international
visitors.
Today,
Nancy Jo's son, Beej, works for her at Long and Foster. They
both have chosen "Powers" for their last name. Beej is married,
and Nancy Jo is grandmother to three, Laura, 14, Luke, 5, and
Maggie, 3. From the time Luke was born, he accompanied his dad
to the office, and when Maggie was born, she began coming as
well.
Nancy Jo's
mother lived with her for thirteen years, caring for Beej while
Nancy Jo worked. "My mother danced non-stop for four hours at my
son's wedding," she says.
As you
might have guessed by now, Nancy Jo loves to travel. Two years
ago, she went to China for three weeks and is going back at the
end of January for the Chinese New Year and the ice festival at
Harbin. She also plans to return to Rome and London and hopes
someday to go to Australia. When asked, she said she speaks
French, Spanish, and some Italian. She can order food and find
the bathroom in China.
You will
not be surprised to learn that her philosophy in life is, "You
can't waste time on the past and what you can't change. Every
day is a great day." She gets up in the morning and elects to be
happy.
Reminiscing
about school days, Nancy Jo says there was no angst. She loved
high school, and college was great. The Rock Island High School
campus, especially the football stadium, brings back fond
memories. She always had fun at the sporting events and dances.
"Rock Island was a good place to grow up. Everyone took care of
you," she says.
Sidekicks
from yesteryear who quickly come to mind are Ginny Cale, Sharon
Stauffer, Barbara Bailey, Leigh Pengelly, and Susie Reed. "We
were always doing things in a large group," she recalls. And she
admitted that, one night while with a group of girls sleeping in
Ginny's back yard, they scampered off and TP'd several houses,
including her own, so that they would not be suspects.
Incidentally, Nancy Jo discovered that Susan Reed now lives only
a few blocks from her.
Nancy Jo hopes
to attend the 50th class reunion and would love to
hear from old friends at
nancy.jo@lnf.com.
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