Here’s to Dad; your day is coming. This is the day you can sit back and do nothing or do whatever you want. You deserve it. This is your day Father’s Day. And now you ask yourself, “Self, how did Father’s Day come about?” Well, settle back and I’ll tell you.
The year was 1909 in Spokane, Wash. where a young woman named Sonora Smart Dodd sat in church listening to a sermon on mothers. Raised by her father Henry Jackson Smart following her mother’s death, it occurred to Sonora how much her father had sacrificed for her and his efforts should be recognized as well as the efforts of all fathers.
It was then she set about establishing Father’s Day to be held in June, the month of her father’s birth. Her hard work paid off, and in June of 1910 the first Father’s Day was celebrated in Spokane. The movement was supported by then-President Calvin Coolidge in 1924, and in 1966 President Lyndon Johnson signed a proclamation declaring the third Sunday in June to be Father’s Day.
President Richard Nixon made it permanent the third Sunday in June would be dedicated to dads when he signed it into law in 1972. Of course they would support it, they were all dads. But it was a good move. Now aren’t you glad you read this column and learned all this?
As fate would have it, commercialism stepped in?”without presidential help, I might add?”and the race was on to purchase the perfect gift for dad. One may notice there are men’s toiletries available touting a gift with a purchase. These gifts range from gym bags to watches along with a gift of “smell good.”
How can you go wrong two gifts for the price of one! You can give one to dad and keep the other for yourself or save it for another day. But that would be tacky; give him the whole thing. You may have noticed this sales pitch was similar to items advertised for Mother’s Day.
Then we have the array of garments and accessories stating “World’s Greatest Dad” all over them in lights and neon colors much like “The World’s Greatest Mom” things. A dad cannot truly enjoy his cup of coffee or beer without drinking it from a mug, stein or cup or wear a hat or tie that lets him know he is the greatest, and lets everyone else know his child thinks so, too.
But I’m sure you’ve already done some or all of the above at some time or another, so how about being a little creative this year. You can cut the grass for him and pick up the clippings. Or how about this one?”dad gets the television remote all to himself for the day! Or wash his car and fill up the tank with gas, which will cost as much as the gift with a purchase smell good stuff.
If you’re a teenager and you put gas in the car, it will not only be appreciated, but it will be a surprise. Just a few suggestions. I’m sure you can come up with some good ideas of your own. But here’s a twist you may want to grab on to. On the first Father’s Day in the Kosey household Husband Joe gave me a jade ring to thank me for making it possible for him to celebrate the day. What a guy!
No matter what your age or whether your dad is still with you, we can all remember our dad with fondness. Remember this is his day, not yours. Let him do what he would like to do, not what you think he should do.
So happy Father’s Day to all you dads out there, whether your kids are young or old. To those who just became dads or soon will become a dad, this is your day, too.
And to Joe Wise, thanks for the idea and Happy Father’s Day. He says he always reads my column right after he reads the police page. Hey, that means I come before sports and the classifieds, so that’s good!
