Saturday, June 17, 2017

Father's Day and a Giveaway

With Nancy J. Farrier

Father’s Day and Mother’s Day were first celebrated in the same decade—the first of the 1900’s. Mother’s Day became an official US holiday in 1914, but Father’s Day took much longer to become official.

There are many possibilities for how Father’s Day first began in the United States, but the most popular story surrounds Sonora Smart Dodd and the idea she conceived of honoring her father after listening to a Mother’s Day sermon. Sonora’s father, a Civil War veteran, earned her respect by the way he provided and cared for his children after his wife died giving birth to their sixth child.

Notman Photo Co.,
Boston, Mass
The first Father’s Day celebration took place June 19, 1910, the third Sunday in June. Sonora tried to have the holiday on June 5th, but a delay put the celebration on the third Sunday instead. Several communities embraced the idea and the holiday began to spread across the country.

In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson approved the idea. President Calvin Coolidge pushed for Father’s Day to become a national holiday in 1924, but didn’t received approval. President Coolidge wanted to, “...establish more intimate relations between fathers and their children...” He also wanted to help father’s to understand the, “...full measure of their obligations...”

Arnold Newman (WHPO)
Four decades later, President Lyndon Johnson signed a proclamation that the third Sunday in June would be Father’s Day. In 1974, Sonora Dodd was honored at the World’s Fair in Spokane, Washington for her part in the instigation of the holiday. Ms. Dodd passed away in 1978.

Many countries around the world have followed suit and started their own celebration for Father’s Day. Over forty countries chose to use the 3rd Sunday of June as their day of celebration too.

Photo by Internet Archive Book Images
Many notable people have given tribute to their father’s and believe their encouragement and instruction to be the reason they are who they are. President Theodore Roosevelt said this of his father, "He combined strength and courage with gentleness, tenderness and great unselfishness. He would not tolerate in us children selfishness or cruelty, idleness, cowardic, or untruthfulness. As we grew older he made us understand that the same standard of clean living was demanded for the boys as for the girls; that what was wrong in a woman could not be right in a man. With great love and patience, and the most understanding sympathy and consideration, he combined insistence on discipline …”

Anthony Berger, photographer


Another notable father is Abraham Lincoln. It is said he gave his children free reign in the White House and even allowed them to interrupt important meetings. The deaths of three of his children devastated him. He was reported to be “remarkably fond” of his children.



Photo by Howard Coster
A.A. Milne, author of the Winnie the Pooh books, loved his son, Christopher Robin so much that he wrote books with his son as the main character. He based many of the animals in the books on the stuffed animals Christopher Robin owned. Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo and Tigger were all taken from his son’s toys. Winnie the Pooh was based on his son’s bear, Edward, but renamed after a Canadian black bear, a mascot in WWI. Milne didn’t like that his Pooh books became so popular, but I picture his interacting with his son as he made up stories.

J.R.R. Tolkien was another author who wrote for his children. He had four children, three boys and a girl. Each year, Tolkien wrote illustrated letters to his
J.R.R. Tolkien 1916
children from Father Christmas. The stories grew with more characters added, and Father Christmas had to battle against goblins who rode on bats. He also wrote his famous book, The Hobbit, first as chapters to entertain his children.


There are many stories of fathers who do a remarkable job raising their children. I once met a man who mentioned raising eight children on his own. His wife died a week after the youngest was born. I stopped the conversation and made his repeat what he’d said and questioned him about how he managed. I also met some of his nearly grown children, who were wonderful young people. I think of him as a hero for doing such an amazing job as a father.



Do you have any stories of father’s who have done something amazing for their children? Maybe your own father has had a profound influence on who you are. Please share something on this blog to be entered to win a $10 Starbucks gift card for a special father you know. Be sure to leave your email address to be entered.



Nancy J Farrier is an award winning author who lives in Southern California in the Mojave Desert. She loves the Southwest with its interesting historical past. Nancy and her husband have five children and two grandsons. When Nancy isn’t writing, she loves to read, do needlecraft, play with her cats, and spend time with her family. Nancy is represented by Karen Ball of The Steve Laube Literary Agency. You can read more about Nancy and her books on her website: nancyjfarrier.com.

14 comments:

  1. Great post, Miss Nancy! Thank you for sharing! My dad is an amazing guy and at nearly eighty nine he teaches me life lessons every day. My mother is now in a nursing facility and my dad is there every day. He sits with his crossword book or assists her if he needs to. After their morning visit, he heads to the golf course for a round of golf. Every evening, he is back at the home. He is teaching me how as my golden years come in to play.

    mauback55 at gmail dot com

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    1. Melanie, I love this story. My parents were the opposite. My dad was in a nursing home and my mom went every day to sit with him and help him with meals. Such love. Thank you for sharing.

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  2. Wow, so father's day started for the reason of trying to bring fathers and children closer? They struggled with that separation even back then! My hubby is an amazing dad to our kids. He plays with them, appreciates the homemade gifts his girls give him, even though they are little pieces of paper, he takes them out on dates and does so much more! lattebooksAThotmailDOTcom

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    1. Thank you for sharing, Susan. I love that your husband is such a great father. What a gift.

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  3. My parents got a divorce when I was 13 but I always looked forward to my weekends with my Dad as he always took me somewhere special or cooked my favorite meals for me. He was a awesome cook. My dad died when I was 30 and it tore me apart.

    Blessings,
    Cindy W.
    countrybear52 AT yahoo DOT com

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    1. Cindy, I'm so glad you still got to spend time with your dad. How sweet that he cooked for you. Thank you for commenting.

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  4. Excellent post! I really enjoyed reading it! So my dad died when I was little, I barely knew him, so we've never really did anything big for Father's Day since he wasn't here. One of my best friend's dad's who was amazing - total super dad kind of took me under his wing. He often included me in family events. My mom worked long hours and I was constantly on my own. No complaints - I love my mom and she is incredible. But I sometimes longed for the two parent family home life so I was happy that my friend's family took me in. Whether it was family dinners, going to the movies, going camping, etc. I was thrilled to be included. I remember this one time Amy's dad took us to the family fun center and spent the whole day with us playing mini-golf, bumper cars, and arcade games - it was definitely one of my favorite days. Sadly, my mom got promoted and transferred to another store and we had to move out of state. My mom's a retail manager and growing up we moved like every 6-9 months - I went to over 20 schools. But when we lived in Vegas which is where Amy and her family live, we were there for 2.5 years so I at least got to spend a longer time with them than our usual quick move-in and move-out stops. I don't see Amy or her family these days, but she is on my Facebook and we occasionally chat here and there. Over the years I have met a few dad's that have been kind and were the dad role-model types, but Amy's dad stands out and is the dad that I had hoped I would have had and the one that if I do have kids I'd hope their dad would be like him. Thanks - allyswanson at hotmail dot com.

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    1. Ally, thank you for sharing this wonderful story of a man who stepped in and made such a great impression on you. I'm so glad you stopped by.

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  5. Nancy, Thank you for an informative and powerful post. I knew some of the history of Mother's Day and Father's Day but not so in depth. My father was a wonderful father always encouraging us to reach for the stars, furgal to provide for his family in every way, loving, full of life, his humor and brightness in every situation. I sure miss him as he passed away in 2000. I cherish all the memories of him. I'm thankful for another Christian man and his wife, who are like parents to me since I live away from our mother. They pray for me daily, we can visit for hours when we see each other and know I can call them any time with a pray requrest or just to visit. marilynridgway78 [at]gmail [dot]com

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    1. Marilyn, it is so hard to lose a parent. How wonderful that you have a Christian couple who are there for you. What a gift.

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  6. Thank you for sharing this great post. This is the twelth Father's Day that I have been without my Daddy and I still miss him very much. He was a man who was devoted to my mother, my brother and me and I was always proud to say that he was my father. He delivered milk to homes and stores for over forty years and at his visitation and funeral there were many people who told us about the free bottles of chocolate milk that he gave them when they were children growing up. I think about how hard that he worked. His work day began at 3:30 am and he usually got home stound 4:30 pm but for many years he worked a second job. From 5:30 till 9 pm he worked at a grocery/gas station. I can only imagine how tired he was but he did this to provide for us, his most notable possessions!
    God gave me a wonderful father who loved his own Heaven Father and taught us that we should love Him also!
    Connie
    cps1950(at)hmail(dot)com

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    1. Connie, your father sounds like an incredible man. I love the story about the free milk. He clearly thought of others. Thank you for commenting.

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  7. I love this post! Men and fathers can get such a bad rap in society today. I was blessed with an amazing father, a gentle giant, who had four daughters and took us camping and backpacking. He was quiet and patient, and set a strong example of faith. He passed away 7 months before we adopted our first baby, and one of my biggest regrets is that he is not here to share that part of my life now. I love celebrating and honoring my husband on this holiday but I also get a little sad missing my own dad.

    colorvibrant at gmail dot com

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    1. Thank you for sharing Heidi. What a blessing to have such a wonderful father. I'm sure you do miss him and wish for him to see his grandchildren.

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