The Origin of Father’s Day
One Sunday in 1909, Sonora Smart Dodd listened to a sermon honoring moth-ers. Her mother had died some years before, so her father had raised her by himself. Dodd wondered why there wasn’t a day to honor fathers, so she arranged a tribute to her father at a church in Spokane, Washington. The date was June 19, 1910. Many people believe this was the beginning of Father’s Day.
Another account holds that a West Virginia church held a tribute service for fathers in 1908, following a mine explosion that killed 360 men. Regardless of which story is correct, President Calvin Coolidge was the first president to designate a special day to honor fathers. In 1924, he proclaimed the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day.
Happy Father’s Day! — Sunday, June 16th
