With Father's Day coming
soon I thought you might enjoy learning a bit about how this holiday actually
got its start. OK, some people think
that Father's Day was invented as an afterthought to Mother's Day. You know,
everyone felt sorry for dads since moms had their special day in May, so…along
came Father's Day in June! Not true!
The creation of a national
day for Dads began back in the 1900s and owes its start to a young widower by
the name of William Smart. A civil war
veteran, William raised his six children single-handedly on a rural farm in
eastern Washington State. When Sonora
Louise Smart Dodd, one of Mr. Smart's children, was grown she wanted to show
her appreciation for her father. So, in
1909, she proposed a day to honor her father in June, the month of her father's
birth (see, it wasn't an afterthought to Mother's Day!).
The very first Father's
Day followed on June 19, 1910, in Spokane, Washington. In 1924 President Calvin Coolidge showed
support for this becoming a national holiday.
But it was President Lyndon Johnson who actually proclaimed it a
national holiday in 1966, to be celebrated on the third Sunday of June.
In case you're wondering
what to do for your dad this year (or you need some ideas to suggest to your
own kids), here are a few things that are guaranteed to please!
- Tickets to his favorite sports event
-
Dinner coupons and movie
tickets for a “Guys' Night Out”
- A gift certificate to his favorite hardware store (think power tools)
- A family-created coupon
book of honey-do's in reverse! Here's
how it works-coupons are redeemed by family members who will take out the
trash, mow the lawn, provide a massage, wash the car-throughout the year! It's the gift that keeps on giving!
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