Happy birthday to Father's Day, 100 years-old

We can’t let Father’s Day pass without saying, “Happy Birthday.” You read that right. It was 100 years ago that what is recognized as the precursor of today’s national Father’s Day was celebrated in Spokane, Wash. The push behind it came from Sonora Smart Dodd, who was 16 years old when her mother died in 1898 and her father, William Jackson Smart, took over care for her and her five siblings. Upon hearing of a Mother’s Day movement in 1909, she decided fathers such as hers deserved a special day of recognition, too.

Through the efforts of Dodd, working with the Spokane YMCA and the city’s Ministerial Alliance, Father’s Day was celebrated on June 19, 1910. But while Mother’s Day caught on relatively quickly, Father’s Day had a tougher road to travel. It wasn’t until 1972 that President Richard Nixon made the third Sunday in June the permanent date for the national celebration of Father’s Day. Today it is celebrated in more than 50 countries.

The National Retail Federation estimates Father’s Day spending this year will be $9.8 billion — 4.8 percent higher than last year, but still below the estimated $14.6 billion spent on Mother’s Day. Greeting cards are a part of those expenditures — an estimated $749 million. Walk down the greeting card aisle and there seems to be a higher percentage of humorous cards than sentimental ones, compared to Mother’s Day choices. But that’s OK, dads can take a joke.

The greeting card punch line, the longevity of the holiday or the amount spent on mothers or fathers are not what matters in the end. What matters is recognizing the important roles fathers play in the lives of their families and the upbringing of children. While parental roles may be changing, the importance of both mothers and fathers has not changed. Children aren’t the only ones who should thank fathers today. As a society, we should thank those fathers who live up to their responsibilities and help produce our future leaders.

We want to thank fathers who are good role models — fathers who help teach their children not only how to ride a bicycle or catch a ball, but also how to contribute to their communities, choose right instead of wrong and become good parents when they have children of their own. SOURCE: Pantagraph