SERVPRO of Newberry and Laurens Counties Honors Father's Day

6/12/2018 (Permalink)

Happy Father's Day to all our dads. Thanks for all you do!

Mrs. Sonora Smart Dodd thought that it might be nice to honor fathers. Her father, William Smart, had raised his SIX children alone on his farm in Washington after his wife died giving birth to their sixth child.

Mrs. Dodd proposed to the Spokane Ministerial Association and the YMCA that they celebrate a “father’s day.” She chose the 5th of June because it was her father’s birthday. 

The idea received strong support, but the good ministers of Spokane asked that the day be changed to give them extra time to prepare sermons on the unexplored subject of fathers.

The first Father’s Day in Spokane, Washington, was observed on June 19, 1910 (the third Sunday in June), and became an annual event there. Soon, other towns had their own celebrations.

Although the Fairmont service was the first known to honor fathers, it did not turn into an annual event, nor was the idea promoted.

Finally, in 1972, when President Richard Nixon was president, Father’s Day was signed a law declaring that it be celebrated annually on the third Sunday in June. It has been an official, permanent national holiday ever since.

Father’s Day Quotes

“He didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.”
Clarence Budington Kelland, American writer (1881-1964), about his father

“I believe that what we become depends on what our fathers teach us at odd moments, when they aren’t trying to teach us. We are formed by little scraps of wisdom.”
–Umberto Eco, Italian novelist (1932-2016)

“My father will leave me nothing to do.”
–A young Alexander the Great, future king of Macedonia (356-323 B.C.)

“A father is a treasure; a brother, a comfort; a friend is both.”
–Benjamin Franklin, American statesman (1706-1790)

“His heritage to his children wasn’t words or possessions, but an unspoken treasure, the treasure of his example as a man and a father.”
–Will Rogers, Jr. (1879–1935)

“A father is someone you look up to no matter how tall you grow.”
–Unknown

No matter how you choose to celebrate the fathers in your life make it a safe holiday. If you choose to use the grill remember proper safety techniques. A backyard barbecue can become dangerous quickly if proper safety precautions aren’t considered.

The SERVPRO of Newberry and Laurens Counties wants to wish all our dads a “Happy Father’s Day”, thanks for all you do for your families.