History and Importance of Father’s Day

June 7, 2022 By Charles (Chuck) Napier Comments are Off

Did you know the first Father’s Day was celebrated on July 5^th, 1908 in Fairmont, West Virginia?

It was a somber celebration organized by Grace Golden. Its purpose was to recognize the hundreds of men who died in the worst mining accident in U.S. history. That tragedy occurred in December 1907 when 361 coal miners were killed in mine explosions, named the Monongah disaster.

A more joyful recognition of the parental role of the Father’s started in 1910 in Spokane, Washington. Sonora Smart Dodd wanted to recognize her father who raised her and five brothers by himself after his wife passed away. Sonora was also inspired by the recent creation of Mother’s Day. The celebration in Spokane was widely publicized and within six years, Father’s Day was celebrated in DC by President Woodrow Wilson. Sonora lived to see President Nixon recognize Father’s Day as an official national holiday in 1972.

Fathers are role models to promote good behavior and ensure their children feel loved and accepted. Recent studies have validated the important role fathers have in their children’s development. Children of fathers who are actively involved in parenting tend to score higher on standardized school tests and are less likely to drop out of school, or commit crimes. Additionally, they have more self-esteem and are generally happier.

Fathers can be even better role models by sharing their lessons learned. Understanding lessons from your father’s mistakes and successes deepen relations with your father. Legacy Stories has spent years developing the Memories From my Life Guidebook about having conversations with your father about his past and family history. These family history discussions often reveal stories and wisdom that simply were not mentioned before. You can take advantage of a 30% savings on the Memories From my Life Guidebook through Father’s Day and have a 30-day money-back guarantee. Sometimes it is not easy to ask personal questions, so having a conversation guide and forms to fill out will help.