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Happy Father’s Day!
June 18, 2023
An event every year that begins at 12:00 am on day third of June, repeating indefinitely
Father’s Day was not, as one may imagine, founded by a father, but by a loving daughter, Sonora Smart Dodd. While sitting in at a church service for Mother’s Day, Dodd was inspired to start a day for dads. Her own father, William Smart, was a Civil War veteran who single-handedly raised Dodd and her five younger brothers after his wife died.
Through Dodd’s determined efforts, the first Father’s Day (which took place in 1910) slowly spread from Washington State to the rest of the country, finally becoming permanently recognized by national law in 1972.
Did you know? Dodd’s dad William Smart served on both sides of the Civil War. While living in the Confederate state of Arkansas during the 1860s, he drove a supply wagon for the Confederate troops. When he was captured by Union soldiers in 1862, Smart elected to join up with the North. As a result, his daughter was eligible to join both the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Daughters of Union Veterans.
While carnations are the official flower of Mother’s Day, the flower of Father’s Day is the rose (white to honor deceased fathers and red to honor living fathers). 🌹 🌹 🌹These days, ties, gadgets, and home improvement tools are more popular gifts however. 👔 🖥️ 🛠️
Portrait of Alexander J. Cassatt and His Son, Robert Kelso Cassatt, Mary Cassatt, 1884
-Written by Anna Zemaitaitis, Communications and Design Officer
