For our message we settled upon a poem written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. The most famous love poem of all time is for You, Dad!!
“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
“I love thee to the level of every day’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
“I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.”
The Role of the Father
It goes without saying that the role of Father is equally as vital to the child as is the role of Mother. Father is most often pictured as serving in the role of protector and provider. He is also a guide, an inspiration, a friend, a supporter, a leader, a comforter, and an example for his sons and daughters.
The story of the first Father’s Day points toward the father as provider – it was held to commemorate the lives of 250 fathers who died in a mining accident. The Farmer’s Almanac [LINK] tells the story:
“Some attribute the first Father’s Day observance to the 1907 Monongah, West Virginia mining disaster that killed 361 men—250 of them fathers— and which left more than a thousand children without a dad. Grace Golden Clayton, whose father was killed in the tragedy, suggested a service of commemoration to the pastor of her local Methodist chapel. But it never really caught on as an annual observance.”
The story goes on to talk about the efforts of a woman named Sonora Louise Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington. She was raised by her father as a single parent. To commemorate the life of her father, she brought the idea of a National Day of Recognition of Fathers to the YMCA. It was well received, leading to Spokane holding the first Father’s Day celebration on June 19, 1910. What followed was a long and sustained effort by Ms. Dodd to persuade the government to create a national holiday. The article goes on to explain:
“Undeterred, Dodd took her mission on the road and spoke publicly to fathers to gain their support. But she was met with hard criticism. According to The Spokesman-Review, they laughed at her and said they didn’t want a Father’s Day. “A national fishing day would be better,” they told her.
“The effort to formally recognize a day for fathers met with even more hurdles over the years. In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge urged states to observe the day nationwide but refused to issue an official proclamation for the holiday, and by the 1930s there was an effort to combine Mother’s Day and Father’s Day into a single “Parent’s Day” holiday. Even the newly formed “Father’s Day Council,” made up (and funded by) of members of men’s clothing retailers, couldn’t get the holiday recognized by 1938, only succeeding in getting calendar makers to mark the third Sunday in June with tie and pipe illustrations. And the general public had no interest in buying cards or gifts for dad that he probably didn’t need.”
A Senator Intervenes
Finally, Senator Margaret Chase Smith of Maine spoke some sense, saying: “Either we honor both our parents, mother and father, or let us desist from honoring either one. But to single out just one of our two parents and omit the other is the most grievous insult imaginable.”
Thank You to Senator Smith for speaking the Truth! The role of Father is equally as vital to the child as is the role of Mother, and as the Senator indicated, omitting the Father is not going to be allowed!! We’ll go back to the article for the rest of the story:
“More than 50 years after Dodd’s initial efforts, Father’s Day was recognized as a holiday to be celebrated on the third Sunday of June by President Lyndon Johnson’s Executive Order in 1966. But it was still not officially recognized as a federal holiday until six years later, in 1972 when, during his re-election campaign, Richard Nixon signed an official proclamation setting Father’s Day permanently on the third Sunday in June nationwide.”
Happy Father’s Day to every Dad, every Step Dad, every man waiting to be a Dad, every Father figure… you matter a whole lot… maybe more than you know. We hope you have an amazing day with lots of love coming your way!!
