Sonora Smart Dodd was sitting in church on Mother’s Day 1909.
She was thinking about her father, William Jackson Smart, who had lovingly raised her and her siblings as well as the children — 14 in all — of his late wives. He was a good father; firm but caring and gentle. At one point Sonora considered; If mothers have a special calendar day of honor, shouldn’t fathers have one, as well?
She decided to follow through on her revelation. Eventually, it came to fruition when the Spokane, Washington Ministerial Alliance agreed to work with her to make it happen. On June 19, 1910, the first Father’s Day was observed.
In Spokane, flowers were distributed to honor fathers living and deceased, and the mayor of Spokane and the governor of Washington issued proclamations. Sonora’s Father’s Day idea spread quickly and for over 60 years she was a tireless advocate for this special day of honor.
Eventually, in 1972 — just six years before her death at age 96 — President Richard Nixon signed a Congressional Resolution declaring the third Sunday in June to be Father’s Day.
I am thinking about fathers, especially now on this run-up to Father’s Day, because Becky and I, along with her daughter Amanda and our granddaughter Lorelei, attended a wedding last weekend. The four of us four drove to Chattanooga, Tennessee, to celebrate the recent marriage of nephew Avery and his wife Sadie.
It was a happy event, as these family celebrations usually are, and people were smiling and dancing into the evening. What struck me then and strikes me now is how two other nephews who attended, both fathers, interacted with their young baby boys.
Nephew Wade, wife Kate and son Theo had driven in from Arkansas while his brother Nephew Logan, finance Alex and son Lenny had made the trek from Chicago. It was a long haul for both couples especially with a child in tow. Of this, I have no doubt.
Sitting there at the dinner table, I was happy to hear the several toasts and tributes to the friends and family the bride and groom acknowledged during the feast. But as I was listening, I was also watching Wade and Logan — both of whom were seated around our table — each caring and containing their two boys. It seemed they were totally at ease with the task as if it were second nature for them — which I am sure it is.
Clearly, for these two couples, the day-to-day, moment-by-moment tasks and challenges of raising children are a shared responsibility. During this particular time of the wedding celebration, the duties fell to the fathers. Later outside during the dances and games, sometimes the moms were in charge of the little ones and sometimes the dads were. They were working together; The Two as One.
Of course, Becky, Amanda, Lorelei and the other (mostly) females who were there were happy to assist with the coddling and cooing when they could.
The children felt loved, I am sure, but Theo and Lenny are not yet cognizant of how blessed they are to have fathers who are in their lives to protect and nurture them.
Fathers who are models of good relationships with the other parent.
Fathers who connect with them in a focused way.
Fathers who are firm, caring and gentle.
Wouldn’t it be a different world if all children could experience this kind of Fatherly Love?
As the boys grow, they will learn much from their dads. Dad Stuff. Good stuff.
Sonora Smart Dodd understood the importance of honoring and thanking the fathers and father figures in our lives.
As should we all.
Bonus Father’s Day dad joke: How many dads does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
One.
Norman Knight, a retired Clark-Pleasant Middle School teacher, writes this weekly column for the Daily Journal. Send comments to [email protected].
