Sonora Smart Dodd and Father's Day
Since I did a little spiel on the origins of Mother's Day, I thought I'd better give equal (or nearly equal) energy to looking into the origins of Father's Day.
Sonora Smart Dodd (1882 - 1978) is given credit for starting the tradition of Father's Day in the U.S.
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Biography
Sonora Louise Smart was born in Jenny Lind, Sebastian County, Arkansas in 1882 to farmer William Jackson Smart (1842-1919) and his wife Ellen Victoria Cheek Smart (1851-1898). William Smart was a sergeant in the Union's First Arkansas Light Artillery during the Civil War. The Smart family moved West and finally settled near Spokane, Washington in 1887.
When Sonora was 16, her mother died in childbirth with her sixth child. Sonora was the only daughter and shared with her father William in the raising of her younger brothers, including her new infant brother Marshall. Sonora Smart married John Bruce Dodd (1870-1945), one of the original founders of Ball & Dodd Funeral Home, and had a son, Jack Dodd, born in 1909.
Sonora Smart held her father in great esteem. While hearing a church sermon about the newly recognized Mother's Day, Sonora felt strongly that Fatherhood needed recognition as well. She approached the Spokane Ministerial Alliance and suggested her own father's birthday, of June 5, as the day of honor for fathers. The Alliance chose the third Sunday in June instead.
The first Father's Day was celebrated June 19, 1910 in Spokane, Washington. The idea of Father's Day became popular and embraced across the nation. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson came to Spokane and spoke at Father's Day services. In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the third Sunday of June as Father's Day. In 1972, President Nixon established a permanent national observance of Father's Day to be held on the 3rd Sunday of June each year.
Sonora Smart Dodd was honored at the World's Fair in Spokane, Washington in 1974. Sonora Smart Dodd died in 1978 at the age of ninety-six. She was buried in Greenwood Memorial Terrace, Spokane Washington, USA.
[From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonora_Smart_Dodd]
Sonora Smart Dodd (1882 - 1978) is given credit for starting the tradition of Father's Day in the U.S.
*
Biography
Sonora Louise Smart was born in Jenny Lind, Sebastian County, Arkansas in 1882 to farmer William Jackson Smart (1842-1919) and his wife Ellen Victoria Cheek Smart (1851-1898). William Smart was a sergeant in the Union's First Arkansas Light Artillery during the Civil War. The Smart family moved West and finally settled near Spokane, Washington in 1887.
When Sonora was 16, her mother died in childbirth with her sixth child. Sonora was the only daughter and shared with her father William in the raising of her younger brothers, including her new infant brother Marshall. Sonora Smart married John Bruce Dodd (1870-1945), one of the original founders of Ball & Dodd Funeral Home, and had a son, Jack Dodd, born in 1909.
Sonora Smart held her father in great esteem. While hearing a church sermon about the newly recognized Mother's Day, Sonora felt strongly that Fatherhood needed recognition as well. She approached the Spokane Ministerial Alliance and suggested her own father's birthday, of June 5, as the day of honor for fathers. The Alliance chose the third Sunday in June instead.
The first Father's Day was celebrated June 19, 1910 in Spokane, Washington. The idea of Father's Day became popular and embraced across the nation. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson came to Spokane and spoke at Father's Day services. In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the third Sunday of June as Father's Day. In 1972, President Nixon established a permanent national observance of Father's Day to be held on the 3rd Sunday of June each year.
Sonora Smart Dodd was honored at the World's Fair in Spokane, Washington in 1974. Sonora Smart Dodd died in 1978 at the age of ninety-six. She was buried in Greenwood Memorial Terrace, Spokane Washington, USA.
[From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonora_Smart_Dodd]
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