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Genesis of Father's Day in Modern Society
The tradition of celebrating Father's Day as seen today originated in the last century. Though there are several people who are credited for furthering the cause of Father's Day, there is far greater acceptance for Ms Sonora Louise Smart Dodd's contribution. A doting daughter from Spokane, Washington, Ms Dodd is recognized as the Founder or Mother of the Father's Day Festival.

Inception of the Father's Day took place in Sonora's mind when she happened to hear a Mother's Day sermon in 1909. Sonora, who was 27 then, had begun to recognize the hardships her father must have gone through while bringing up his six children alone. When Sonora was 16, her mother had died during childbirth. Sonora's father a Civil War veteran by the name of William Jackson Smart raised six children including the newborn on his own. Sonora questioned that if there is a day to recognize mothers then why is not there a day to honor fathers?

Many people laughed and joked at Sonora's idea. But her will did not droop. She began a sincere campaign lobbying for the cause of Father's Day. Her hard work began to show signs of success when Spokane celebrated its first Father's Day on June 19, 1910 with the support of Spokane Ministerial Association and the local Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA). To pay tribute to her affectionate father, Sonora wished that Father's Day be celebrated on her father's birthday on June 5, but it so happened that there was not enough time for preparation and the day came to be celebrated on third Sunday in the month of June.

The noble idea of celebrating Father's Day became quite popular in US so much so that President Woodrow Wilson approved of the festival in 1916. President Calvin Coolidge too supported the idea but it was President Lyndon Johnson who signed a Presidential Proclamation declaring the third Sunday of June as Father's Day in 1966. Then in 1972, President Richard Nixon established a permanent national observance of Father's Day to be held on the third Sunday of June.

Fathers Day Celebration in Present Time
Father's Day has become a hugely popular festival. World over people thank their father and pay tribute to them. Most commonly children gift Father's Day cards and flowers to their father. Neckties are a popular gift on the occasion of Father's Day. Due to the tradition of giving gifts, cards makers, florists and gift sellers campaign for Father's Day Festival in a big way and cash in on the sentiments of the people.
 

 

President Bush's Father's Day Proclamation
 when he was in office

"Fathers play a unique and important role in the lives of their children. As mentor, protector, and provider, a father fundamentally influences the shape and direction of his child's character by giving love, care, discipline, and guidance. As we observe Father's Day, our nation honors fatherhood and urges fathers to commit themselves selflessly to the success and well-being of their children. And we reaffirm the importance of fathers in the lives of their children. Raising a child requires significant time, effort, and sacrifice; and it is one of the most hopeful and fulfilling experiences a man can ever know. A father can derive great joy from seeing his child grow from infancy to adulthood. As a child matures into independence and self reliance, the value of a parent's hard work, love, and commitment comes to fruition.

Responsible fatherhood is important to a healthy and civil society. Numerous studies confirm that children whose fathers are present and involved in their lives are more likely to develop into prosperous and healthy adults. Children learn by example; and they need their father's presence as examples of virtue in their daily lives. A child's sense of security can be greatly enhanced by seeing his parents in a loving and faithful marriage."

George W. Bush
President, USA
 


In Memory Poem

In memory of my dad RIP, who I love and still miss.

My Dad
Thomas Richard Kirkland
1890 - 1945
DeFuniak Springs, FL

 


Poem ©Leah Hendrie

If I could write a story
It would be the greatest ever told
Of a kind and loving father
Who had a heart of gold

If I could write a million pages
But still be unable to say, just how
Much I love and miss him
Every single day

I will remember all he taught me
I'm hurt but won't be sad
‘coz he'll send me down the answers
And he'll always be MY DAD

Bettye Kirkland Chambers


Source: In Memory Of My Dad, In Memory Poem



 

  • Proverbs (ch. X, v. 1)
    A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.

     

  • Proverbs (ch. XXII, v. 6)
    Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

     

  • Ephesians 6:4
    Fathers do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

     

  • Ephesians 6:4
    And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

     

  • Matthew 7:11
    If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father who is in Heaven give good things to them that ask him?

     

  • Psalms ch. CXXVIII, v. 3)
    Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.

     

 



 

Happy Father's Day

 
 

Now playing:
Ragtime Cowboy Joe - Lyrics
(Grant Clarke, Lewis Muir and Maurice Abrahams)

Out in Arizona where the bad men are,
And the only friend to guide you is an Evening Star,
The roughest, toughest man by far
Is Ragtime Cowboy Joe.
Got his name from singing to the cows and sheep
Every night they say he sings the herd to sleep
In a basso rich and deep,
Crooning soft and low

cho: How he sings raggy music to his cattle
     As he swings back and forward in his saddle
     On his horse (a pretty good horse)
     Who is syncopated gaited
     And with such a funny meter
     To the roar of his repeater

     How they run when they hear the feller's gun
     Because the western folks all know:
     He's a hifalootin' scootin', shootin'
     Son-of-a-gun from Arizona
     Ragtime cowboy (talk about your cowboy)
     Ragtime cowboy Joe.

Dressed up ev'ry Sunday in his Sunday clothes
He beats it for the village where he always goes,
And ev'ry girl in town is Joe's
'Cause he's a ragtime bear;
When he starts a-spieling on the dance hall floor,
No one but a lunatic would start a war
Wise men know his forty-four
Makes men dance for fair.

Note: Written in 1912; revived in 1943 in an Alis Faye movie "Hello,Frisco, Hello" and by Betty Hutton, 1945, in "Incendiary Blonde." The folk seem to have followed their usual practice of remembering the chorus and forgetting the verse. Grant Clarke, who wrote the words, is also responsible for "Second Hand Rose", among others. RG
 
Father's Day 4Web page by BettyeC