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DEAR DAD JUST THOUGHT I WOULD SAY

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The Beginnings of a Tradition

Happy Father's Day

Any man can be a Father,
but it takes a special person
to be called Dad.


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        The idea for creating a day for children to honor their fathers began in Spokane, Washington. A woman born in 1882, by the name of Sonora Smart Dodd thought of the idea for Father's Day while listening to a Mother's Day sermon in 1909.

        Having been raised by her father, William Jackson Smart, after her mother died, Sonora wanted her father to know how special he was to her. It was her father that made all the parental sacrifices and was, in the eyes of his daughter, a courageous, selfless, and loving man. Sonora's father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father's Day celebration in Spokane, Washington on the 19th of June, 1910.

        In 1926, a National Father's Day Committee was formed in New York City. Father's Day was recognized by a Joint Resolution of Congress in 1956. In 1972, President Richard Nixon established a permanent national observance of Father's Day to be held on the third Sunday of June. So Father's Day was born in memory and gratitude by a daughter who thought that her father and all good fathers should be honored with a special day just like we honor our mothers on Mother's Day.


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        The excert below is from the Silver Anniversary Book on Father's day published in 1935. I would like to thank William Jackson Smart's great granddaughter, Bonnie, for sharing this with me.

        "This year, 1935, the Silver Anniversary of Fathers' Day is being observed. Thirty-seven years ago, in the Big Bend hills of Washington, the day had its nativity in a lonely farm dwelling. There Sorrow ministered amid the moaning of the March winds.

        A father sat with bowed head in his aloneness. About him clung his weeping children. The winds outside threw great scarfs of powdered snow against the window panes, when suddenly the last born tore himself from the group and rushed out into the storm calling for his mother. Yet even his baby voice could not penetrate the great silence that held this mother.

        Hurriedly, the father gathered him back to his protection and for more than two decades, William Jackson Smart, alone, kept paternal vigilance over his motherless children.

        This poignant experience in the life of Mrs. John Bruce Dodd of Spokane, Washington, who was then Sonora Louise Smart, was the inspiration for Fathers' Day which materialized through the devotion of this father and the father of her own son, John Bruce Jr., born in 1909. Through the observance of the love and the sacrifice of fathers about her everywhere, her idea of Fathers' Day crystallized in 1910, through a formal Fathers' Day petition asking recognition of fatherhood."


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What Makes A Dad

 

God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle's flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,
Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so, He called it ... Dad

Author is unknown


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To Our Dads, With Love

Walk alongside me

and hold my little hand.

I have so many things to learn

that I don't yet understand.

Teach me things to keep me safe

from dangers every day.

Show me how to do my best

at home, at school, at play.

Every child needs a gentle hand

to guide them as they grow.

So walk alongside me, Daddy -

We have a long way to go.

~ Anonymous
Footprints

"Walk a little slower, Daddy,"

said a child so small.

"I'm following in your footsteps

and I don't want to fall.

Sometimes your steps are very fast,

Sometimes they're hard to see;

So walk a little slower, Daddy,

For you are leading me.

Someday when I'm all grown up,

You're what I want to be;

Then I will have a little child

Who'll want to follow me.

And I would want to lead just right,

And know that I was true;

So, walk a little slower, Daddy,

For I must follow you."

~ Anonymous
I find myself wondering...
Did I give you your due..
For all that you've done for me
Did I ever thank you?

For all of my childhood memories
For helping me deal with life's stresses
For helping me accept my defeats
And celebrate my successes?

Or for teaching me the value of hard work,
Good judgement, courage, and being true
The laughter, smiles, and quiet times we've shared
Did I ever thank you?

If I have forgotten, I'm thanking you now
You taught me right from wrong....
I hope you know how much you're loved and appreciated
I hope you, instinctively, knew it all along.

HAPPY FATHERS DAY TO FATHERS EVERYWHERE

Don't Forget Dad on His Special Day

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Reader Feedback

  • Nathanville Jun 29, 2007 @ 4:23 am | delete
    Great lens, good idea and worth the 5*. Although Fathers Day was not conceived until 1909 Sonora Smart Dodd who thought of the idea was born during the Victorian Era. So welcome aboard the Victorian Culture Group.
  • ChouDoufu Jun 18, 2007 @ 2:26 pm | delete
    I happy to add this to the Dad's of Squidoo.
  • sixquid Jun 11, 2007 @ 2:32 am | delete
    nice lens welcome to the group
  • AnnsHomeDecor Jun 9, 2007 @ 8:01 am | delete
    I enjoyed reading your lens. Fathers are so important. Very nice lens.
  • Oosquid Jun 6, 2007 @ 3:04 pm | delete
    Yes, Dads are great, you miss ?em when they're gone. Super lens.
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DADDY'S LITTLE GIRL

By Alicia D. Gayness

My dad's little girl I used to be
He would sit and bounce me on his knee
He made me fell safe and secure at night,
he taught me what was wrong and right
Now that I am grown and graduated high school,
as trials come my way
my daddy will still lovingly say,
Daughter, here is my shoulder
let me carry that heavy boulder
I thank my heavenly father above for filling my daddy's heart with his love,
so that when the storms of life start to whirl
I can still feel like I'm my daddy's little girl

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