With Father’s Day around the corner lets discover it’s origins and why we celebrate dads across the nation.
On July 5th, 1908, a West Virginia church held the nation’s first event in honor of fathers. This Sunday sermon was a heartfelt tribute to the 362 men who had tragically died in the Fairmont Coal Company mine explosions the previous December.
The following year, Sonora Smart Dodd, a woman from Spokane, Washington, sought to create an official day to honor fathers. She campaigned tirelessly, reaching out to local churches, the YMCA, shopkeepers, and government officials to gather support for her idea. Her efforts paid off, and on June 19th, 1910, Washington State celebrated the nation’s first statewide Father’s Day.
In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson marked the occasion by using telegraph signals to unfurl a flag in Spokane when he pressed a button in Washington, D.C., demonstrating national recognition of the holiday.
Source: history.com
Reporting for WGRT – Choze Powell
