History of Father's Day

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=20% BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="419a0a92egerdp.gif"> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I><B> <embed src="HTMLobj-1047/daddyshands_1_.mid" autostart="true" loop="true" hidden="true">   <style>  </style>  </B></I><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Collage" ><I><B> <script language=JavaScript>  </script>  </B></I></FONT></div> <div> <I><B>Father's Day</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#president_bush_s_father_s_day" TITLE="History of Fathers Day"><U><I><B>PRESIDENT BUSH'S FATHER'S DAY</B></I></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="#quote_from_president_ronald_regan" TITLE="History of Fathers Day"><U><I><B>QUOTE FROM PRESIDENT RONALD REGAN</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I> <TABLE BORDER="5" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="479" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#000000" BORDERCOLORDARK="#CC0000" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 789 WIDTH="463"><div> <I>Father's Day, contrary to popular misconception, was not established as a holiday in order to help greeting card manufacturers sell more cards. In fact when a "father's day" was first proposed there were no Father's Day cards!</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>Mrs. John B. Dodd, of Washington, first proposed the idea of a "father's day" in 1909. Mrs. Dodd wanted a special day to honor her father, William Smart. </I><I><B>She thought of the idea for Father's Day while listening to a Mother's Day sermon in 1909.</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC0000" FACE="arial" ><I><B> </B></I></FONT><I>William Smart, a Civil War veteran, was widowed when his wife (Mrs. Dodd's mother) died in childbirth with their sixth child. Mr. Smart was left to raise the newborn and his other five children by himself on a rural farm in eastern Washington state. It was after Mrs. Dodd became an adult that she realized the strength and selflessness her father had shown in raising his children as a single parent. </I></div> <bR> <div> <I>The first Father's Day was observed on June 19, 1910 in Spokane Washington. At about the same time in various towns and cities across American other people were beginning to celebrate a "father's day." In 1924 President Calvin Coolidge supported the idea of a national Father's Day. Finally in 1966 President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the 3rd Sunday of June as Father's Day.</I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I>Father's Day has become a day to not only honor your father, but all men who act as a father figure. Stepfathers, uncles, grandfathers, and adult male friends are all be honored on Father's Day.</I></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></I></div> <div> <I> <A NAME="president_bush_s_father_s_day"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></I></div> <div> <I><B>PRESIDENT BUSH'S FATHER'S DAY PROCLAMATION</B></I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><IMG SRC="459c8fb0.jpg" border=0 width="200" height="251" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <B>George H.W. Bush with his son, George W. Bush</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>"Fathers play a unique and important role in the lives of their children. As mentor, protector, and provider, a father fundamentally influences the shape and direction of his child's character by giving love, care, discipline, and guidance. As we observe Father's Day, our nation honors fatherhood and urges fathers to commit themselves selflessly to the success and well-being of their children. And we reaffirm the importance of fathers in the lives of their children. Raising a child requires significant time, effort, and sacrifice; and it is one of the most hopeful and fulfilling experiences a man can ever know. A father can derive great joy from seeing his child grow from infancy to adulthood. As a child matures into independence and self reliance, the value of a parent's hard work, love, and commitment comes to fruition.</B></div> <div> <B>Responsible fatherhood is important to a healthy and civil society. Numerous studies confirm that children whose fathers are present and involved in their lives are more likely to develop into prosperous and healthy adults. Children learn by example; and they need their father's presence as examples of virtue in their daily lives. A child's sense of security can be greatly enhanced by seeing his parents in a loving and faithful marriage."</B></div> <div> <B>--George W. Bush</B></div> <bR> <div> <B> <A NAME="quote_from_president_ronald_regan"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="45a78c70.png" border=0 width="120" height="199" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>President Ronald Regan</B></I></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>"The days of our childhood forecast our lives, as poets and philosophers long have told us. 'The childhood shows the man as morning shows the day,' John Milton wrote. 'Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it,' Solomon tells us…Our fathers bear an awesome responsibility--one that they shoulder willingly and fulfill with a love that asks no recompense. By turns both gentle and firm, our fathers guide us along the path from infancy to adulthood. We embody their joy, pain and sacrifice, and inherit memories more cherished than any possession. </B></div> <div> <B>On Father's Day each year, we express formally a love and gratitude whose roots go deeper than conscious memory can recite. It is only fitting that we have this special day to pay tribute to those men--our natural fathers, adoptive fathers and foster fathers--who deserve our deepest respect and devotion. It is equally fitting, as we recall the ancient and loving command to honor our fathers, that we resolve to do so by becoming ourselves parents and citizens who are worthy of honor." --Ronald Reagan</B><B> </B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>original sources unknown</B></div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>