Father's
Day
3rd Sunday, June
"That
is the thankless position of the father in the family-the
provider for all, and the enemy of all." -- J. August
Strindberg
Wilstar.com
form his Father's
Day Quotes
A
Brief History. Pretty well everyone agrees that Sonora
Dodd, of Washington, got the idea of Father's Day while listening
to a Mother's Day sermon in 1909. Her own father, William
Smart, a Civil War veteran, was widowed when his wife died
giving birth to their 6th child
It
was Mr. Smart's role as a selfless and apparently very loving
father that inspired Sonora to honour him by holding the first
Father's Day in June, the month of his birth.
The
first Father's Day was held in Spokane, Washington on June
19, 1910. In 1924 Calvin Coolidge supported a national Father's
Day, and in 1966 Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation
declaring the 3rd Sunday of June as Father's Day. (wilstar.com)
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Timeline.
Here's a timeline of Father's Day from 1910 to 1972
-
1910
Sonora Dodd organizes the first Father's Day on June 19,
her own father's birthday.
-
1924
President Calvin Coolidge publicly supports plans for
a national Father's Day.
-
1926
The National Father's Day Committee meets for the first
time in New York City.
-
1956
The observance of Father's Day is recognized by a Joint
Resolution of Congress.
-
1966
President Lyndon Johnson proclaims Father's Day to be
an official national holiday.
-
1972
President Nixon signs a law a permanent U.S. Father's
Day to be observed on the 3rd Sunday of June. (Learning
Network - Father's
Day Timeline)
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Father's
Day Flowers: Roses are the Father's Day flower. Red roses
are to be worn for a living father & white if the father
has died. (Presumably the offspring wear the flowers since,
while pinning a red rose on a living father is fine, the alternative
is somewhat socially unacceptable.) OttawaPlus.ca
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Father's
Day Trivia: A
Babylonian youth named Elmesu carved the first known Father's
Day card in clay nearly 4000 years ago. His message wished
his father good health and a long life. (Numerous sources,
but this is taken directly from Hallmark
Cards - and they should know, right?)
The first
known neckties were found around the necks of 7500 Chinese
warrior's statues discovered in the tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi.
(Online
Ties.com)
Croatia
is the mother country of the modern necktie, approximately
350 years ago. (Croatia
- Homeland of cravats)
More than
600 million men wear ties on a regular basis. (Online
Ties com)
Despite
many noisy views to the contrary, television portrays fathers
in a very poor light. This conclusion is the result of a study
by the National Fatherhood Initiative (NFI) as reported in
the American Family (AFA) Journal (and of course, by anyone
who has been watching TV for the last 50 years).. (AFA
Journal)
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Events
on Father's Day: The
National 24-Hour Challenge is held on the weekend of Father's
Day. Starting in 1983 with 18 riders, the event now draws
roughly 500 cyclists from the United States and Canada who
have completed a total of 1,387,737 miles since its beginning
(in metric that would be a whole lot of kilopascals). (National
24-Hour Challenge)
Arnprior's
Ottawa River Catfest, a 3 day fishing derby in which you
receive a ticket for every catfish caught. Each ticket is
a chance to win one of several pretty good prizes including
the first place prize of a 14' boat. (Ottawa
River Catfest)
Steam
Whistle's Craft Beer Show & BBQ Cook-Off, takes place
downtown Toronto in and around the North Market Building of
the St. Lawrence Market Complex. Admission is free and sample
tickets are sold for $1 each.(Steam
Whistle)
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Famous
Fathers:
Letters
from fathers to sons: Theodore Roosevelt and Alexander
Graham Bell's letters to their children.
Uranus:
The first father, born of Gaea (without any help). His fathering
days were ended by his son Cronus who performed what may be
considered the first vasectomy. Naturally, Cronus was a little
paranoid of his own children and protected himself by eating
them. Although we have no record of how his wife, Rhea, cooked
them up, evidence suggests she may have used some kind of
fruitcake recipe since, when she found a child she really
liked (Zeus), she kept him alive by feeding Cronus a stone
and he never noticed the difference. For more information,
read Bartleby.com's Bulfinch's
Mythology.
King
Lear Not a bad man, but not so good with girls. He would
have loved the idea of Father's Day.
Daddy
Warbucks Not technically a daddy, but he still stands
out as one of the only arms-dealing father figures to ever
become a respectable pop-cult icon. Courtesy of The
Official Little Orphan Annie Homepage.
Jim
Anderson From 1954 to 1962, in Father Knows Best,
he was every family's ideal father good natured and
easy to get around.
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People
With "Daddy" In Their Name:
Big
DaddyG: AKA Dave Glover, one of Canada's hottest blues
musicians. A real Ontario success story.
Puff
Daddy: Born with the name Sean Combs, this hip-hop singer
made big headlines when he started hanging around with Jennifer
Lopez. The shooting incident didn't hurt his publicity either.
(Warning: lots of pop-ups.)
Sweet
Daddy Siki: Although he was born in Montgomery, Texas,
wrestler Reginald Siki moved to Toronto in 1961 simply for
convenience. Once there, however, he declared, "My God,
this is God's country" and Toronto has been his home
ever since. Now, of course, he's no longer wrestling, but
he still has a country & western band and works as a DJ.
Big
Daddy's Crab Shack and Oyster Bar: Seafood restaurant
with spots in Ottawa and Toronto.
Big
Daddy Grace: Early 20th century "Black Messiah,"
founded the popular, and still extant, United House of Prayer
For All People."
Daddy
Long Fingaz: Bills himself as a "drum & bass
DJ" and works out of Toronto. I think he plays records
while putting his hands all over them.
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I
Am My Own Grandpa: Lyrics to Lorenzo
and Oscar's perennial favourite.
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