Father's Day

The first observance of Father's Day took place in Spokane, Washington in 1909 to complement Mother's Day. A woman by the name of Sonora Smart Dodd initiated the idea. Her father was a Civil War veteran who raised six children alone after his wife died in childbirth. It took many years to convince Congress and a number of presidents that it should be a national holiday. President Lyndon Johnson, in 1966, declared the third Sunday in June to be Father's Day. President Nixon signed it into law in 1972. THAT'S RECENT HISTORY!

Today, Father's Day is a day, typically, when the family gets together for an outdoor barbeque (weather permitting) and children of all ages give gifts to their fathers. The standard (and predictable) gift used to be a necktie. The trend for casual dress in the workplace devalued the necktie, however, and today most dads receive shirts or sports paraphernalia from their kids. We celebrated Father's Day in our back yard last Sunday. Buzz grilled hamburgers, and we sat in the shade and enjoyed each other's company. In the first photo are two experienced dads and one new dad. The second photo is Buzz's dad who passed away a year-and-a-half ago.