Father's Day History

Sonora Dodd, of Washington, first had the idea of a "Father's Day."
She thought of the idea for Father's Day while listening to a
Mother's Day sermon in 1909. 

Sonora wanted a special day to honor her father, William Smart.
Smart, who was a Civil War veteran, was widowed when his wife  died while
giving birth to their sixth child. Mr. Smart was left to raise
the newborn and his other five children by himself on a rural farm
in  eastern Washington state. 

After Sonora became an adult she realized the selflessness her
father had shown in raising his children as a single parent. It was her
father that made all the parental sacrifices and was, in the eyes
of his daughter, a courageous, selfless, and loving man. Sonora'
father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father's
Day celebration in Spokane, Washington on the 19th of June, 1910. 

President Calvin Coolidge, in 1924, supported the idea of a
national Father's Day. Then in 1966 President Lyndon Johnson signed
a presidential proclamation declaring the 3rd Sunday of June as Father's Day.

Click here for WWA Father Day Stories
Collected from the WWA Ladies

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Grace Buckley