Happy Father’s Day from SERVPRO®

6/7/2022 (Permalink)

Father’s Day is coming up on Sunday, June 19^th! It is a chance to celebrate the men in your life, whether it be your actual father, father-figures, and other paternal bonds, honoring all that fatherhood entails. It is annually celebrated on the third Sunday in June.

History

To complement Mother’s Day, Father’s Day was inaugurated during the 20^th century of the United States. It was founded in Spokane, Washington at the YMCA by Sonora Smart Dodd in 1910. It was first celebrated on June 19, 1910 – the same date it is this year! Her father, William Jackson Smart, was a Civil War veteran and was a single parent that took care of six children. After hearing sermon about Anna Jarvis’ Mother’s Day at Central Methodist Episcopal Church in 1909, she became motivated to have a similar holiday that honors fatherhood. Originally, she suggested June 5^th, her father’s birthday, the pastors, however, did not have time to prepare their sermons, and such the celebration was deferred to the third Sunday in June.

Unfortunately, the new holiday did not have much success initially. In 1913, a bill to accord national recognition of the holiday was introduced to Congress. Three years later, President Woodrow Wilson went to Spokane to speak in a Father’s Day celebration, and wanted to make it official. However, Congress resisted, fearing that it would become commercialized. In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge recommended that the day be observed by the nation, but stopped short of issuing a national proclamation, as two earlier attempts had been thwarted by Congress. In the year 1957, Maine Senator Margaret Chase Smith wrote a proposal that accused Congress of ignoring fathers for 40 years while honoring mothers, thus singling out just one of the two parents. President Lyndon B. Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honoring fathers in 1966. Six years later, the day was made a permanent holiday when President Richard Nixon signed it into law in 1972.

Don’t let the grill get out of control this year for Father’s Day! But, if it does happen, SERVPRO® of Augusta South / Wilkes & Burke Counties is the one to call! Contact us at 706-843-1990, we are always ready to help.