Frances Perkins Homestead, on the east side of River Road, south of U.S. Route 1, in Newcastle. Library of Congress Photo

As we celebrate and reflect on the meaning of Labor Day, it seems like an appropriate time to recognize one of the greatest advocates for American workers, Frances Perkins, whose household is in Maine.

Frances Perkins was an incredible woman and an incredible leader. She was the first woman to ever serve as a cabinet secretary to a U.S. president. As President Franklin Roosevelt’s secretary of labor for 12 years, was responsible for most of the New Order.

The policies Perkins fought for continue to benefit everyone in the United States, even after all these years. She was responsible for creating Social Security, which helps people retire with dignity. She helped create the minimum wage and the 40-hour workweek. She led the fight to end child labor and forced major workplace safety reforms.

President Roosevelt sent her to Europe before World War II to gather intelligence on the continent’s politics and combat readiness.

This portrait of Frances Perkins, taken in 1918, is part of the Harris and Ewing Collection at the Library of Congress. Harris and Ewing, photographer

She was a social worker and a teacher. And through her advocacy, helped save thousands of Jewish refugees who escaped the Holocaust during World War II, even though it meant fighting the powerful US State Department.

Through her pioneering life, she helped open doors of political opportunity for generations of women. She took her seat at the most powerful table in the land so that other women could have the same opportunities.

And her estate, the place she came to for inspiration, rest and recuperation, is in Newcastle, near Damariscotta.

When the Perkins Homestead opens to the public in the future, visitors will be able to see the desk she worked at, the typewriter her colleagues at the Department of Labor gave her, artifacts from her life and the stone wall she leaned against when she heard the news of World War II over the car radio in the driveway.

Because of Perkins’ accomplishments and the impact her Maine values ​​have on American life, her estate is deserving of designation as a National Monument managed by the National Parks Service.

That is why the management of the Frances Perkins Centre in Newcastle has started to work towards Frances Perkins House National Historic Landmark designed as a national monument by President Biden.

When Shannon EstenozDeputy Secretary of the Department of the Interior, visited the Frances Perkins Homestead National Historic Site and told an incredible story about another historic site.

Visitors Lincoln National Historic Site explore the extraordinary home that in many ways reflects the life and times of President Abraham Lincoln. As visitors climb the steps, park rangers tell them, “This is the original banister that President Lincoln used.”

The reaction is almost universal. People step back from the railing, astonished and afraid of damaging something so historic. Then the park rangers continue: “Go ahead. Touch it. This is the closest thing we’ll ever get to shaking President Lincoln’s hand.”

It’s an incredible story that illustrates the role the National Park Service plays in preserving our nation’s shared history. They manage significant places across the country that bring us closer to the past, teach us important lessons about yesterday and important lessons about today. They give us a chance to touch history.

This recognition will give more Americans the chance to learn more about Frances Perkins and how she changed the American job market forever. They can do so by getting as close to this extraordinary woman as possible.

State Senator Peggy Rotundo is a board member of the Frances Perkins Center in Newcastle, Maine. She is currently running for re-election to the Maine Senate.

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