Father's Day.....

Father's Day was officially recognized 52 years ago by LBJ (1966). It took 55 years for Father's Day to be recognized after it's counterpart, Mother's Day. Mother's Day was celebrated and recognized by all the states in 1911.

Father's Day evolved from events in which men payed the ultimate price for their families. The first celebration was said to be started from a memorial service held for a large group of men who died in a mining accident in West Virginia in 1907.

In 1909, Sonora Smart Dodd heard a church sermon about Mother’s Day, which had recently become a recognized holiday, and she wondered why there was no Father’s Day. Dodd began a campaign to celebrate Father's Day in the United States. She was inspired by her dad, who raised 6 kids after the civil war as a single father. 

The first local Father's Day was celebrated on June 19, 1910, in Spokane, Washington at a local YMCA. Sonora Smart Dodd became known as the Mother of Father's Day. 

Today, many children are being raised without a father or fatherhood figure. It is ironic that in 1966, when the bill was passed, children grew up in homes that had a father. Today, 33 million children are being raised without a fatherhood figure. Over the past 50 years, there has been a steep decline in fatherhood. Hopefully over the next 50 years, we can return to a day when children have fathers play a positive role in their lives again.