The Meaning of Father’s Day

by Trina Hampton May 17, 2021

As parents, we are meant to inspire greatness in our children with hopes of building a better tomorrow.  In 1909, greatness was inspired by a civil war vet, twice widowed and a single father of 14 children.  So much so, in 1908, one of his daughters, Sonora Smart Dodd, believing her father, William Jackson Smart, to be a devoted and selfless dad, changed the course of history. 

“I remember everything about him,” Sonora said many years later to the Spokane Daily Chronicle. “He was both father and mother to me and my brothers and sisters.”  Sonora spent the next 60 years of her life pushing for the recognition of fathers.  

Fun Facts

1910 – First Father’s Day was recognized in Spokane Washington.  Red and white were passed out in honor of the living and deceased fathers 

1972 – Richard Nixon finally signed a Congressional resolution declaring the third Sunday in June to be Father’s Day. Sonora was 90 years old.

There are more than 70 million fathers in the United States.

Read the full article: The Man Who Inspired Father’s Day Was a Single Dad and a Civil War Vet

Father’s Day is around the corner – Get Dad some Swag!