Currently, fathers day is celebrated in the United States every year on the third Sunday of June. But this wasn’t always the case. In fact, the first fathers day wasn’t celebrated until 1910. In 1988, the Record Courier published an interview with the cousin of Sonora Dodd, the woman credited with the creation of Father’s day. She tells the story of when Dodd first came up with the idea, sitting in a mother’s day church sermon. Dodd’s father had been widowed in 1898, leaving him with six children between the ages of 16 months to 3 years, and she was the oldest. Growing up with just her father, Senora was inspired to create a day where fathers could be celebrated in the way mothers were each year. She wasn’t the only person with this idea. In fact, in the Springfield Advocate in 1912, one writer proposed a similar idea to have fathers celebrated, as the scripture said to honor both the mother and father.
However, Dodd was the one to put in the work to make the idea come to life. Her cousin, Pam, reminisces in this interview that Senora Dodd spent her life lobbying for national recognition, and while for years it was celebrated nationally, it wasn’t until 1972 that it became officially recognized. That year, President Richard Nixon signed a congressional resolution to officially recognize the third Sunday of every June as Father’s Day.
With that history in mind, let’s explore a few descriptions of what a father should be throughout the centuries of celebrating paternal figures in our lives.
In the Breda News, published on June 16th, 1927, they wrote about celebrating fathers day for the first time, and what they believed it meant to fathers. The argued that fathers don’t hold the paternal role for recognition or praise, that “fathers position has not inspired many poets to glorify him”, and that the average father wouldn’t expect any praise. They argue fathers do what they do for the betterment of their families. They claim that fathers work hard, but will rarely expect to be celebrated for it, as long as they receive three meals a day and a place to sleep at night. One thing that stood out to me in this article is that they emphasized that Fathers are humans and, as such, have flaws. However, they defined a good father as one who is able to admit their faults and needs. They also write that while fathers may not expect to be celebrated, they won’t object to having a day of appreciation for all they do. I think this article does a good job of demonstrating the societal expectations of fathers to work hard and provide for their families without need for praise or recognition. I do however think that the emphasis of making mistakes and owning up to them is quite progressive for this time, permitting men to make mistakes without being labeled as a failure for them.
What Makes A Father in 1970
Jumping ahead a few decades, the Canastota Bee-Journal published a piece answering the question “What are fathers made of” on June 18th, 1970. They describe what a father looked like to them in a variety of ways. A father was someone who laughed even when they were scared, putting on a brave face for their family. A father was frequently worried about failing to reach the pedestal his children placed him on, continuously working to be the perfect person they see him as. A father was someone who worked to make an easier path for his kids to travel than the one he went through. A father was someone who would go to war to ensure a better life for his kids. The overarching theme of their description was that a father was someone whose goal in life was to provide the best life for their children, and an easier journey than they grew up with. This description of fathers was focused less on the stereotypical gender role assigned to men in families, but instead celebrated the sacrifices fathers make for their children.
Finally, jumping to 2004 we have an article from the Quincy Herald Whig on June 19th, 2004 that describes a “nowadays dad” and what sets them apart from fathers of past generations. They argue that “nowadays dads” played a larger role in pregnancy and childbirth, that “gone are the days of dad pacing the floor in the waiting room” and instead play a more involved role in the birth process. Similarly, they claim that this new generation of fathers shared equal responsibilities in raising a new child, and that once home “the already sleep-deprived dad shares getting up in the middle of the night” to feed their newborn, change diapers, and take care of household responsibilities. Finally, “nowadays dads” were not just invested in the physical wellbeing of their children, but also their spiritual wellbeing, remarking that most fathers now accompany their children to church and worship with them. I thought this was an accurate depiction of what I have grown to know fathers as– equal partners in the process of raising kids and providing for their families.
While our descriptions of fathers have changed, fathers remain important in the lives of many. I think one thing that all these articles can agree on is that it’s not simply blood that makes a father, but rather the role they play and the support they provide to their children that makes them a father. Join me again next week to discover more of history’s hidden gems and timeless tales.
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