In honor of the upcoming day of celebration for fathers everywhere (or at least in the United States and a few other countries), how ‘bout we look at some fun facts and/or interesting tidbits regarding the holiday and dads in general?
1. The first Father’s Day took place on June 19, 1910, in Spokane, Washington, compliments of Sonora Smart-Dodd’s dedication and perseverance. Her father, William Smart, raised six children as a single dad after the death of his wife.
2. She really wanted to schedule Father’s Day on June 5th, which was her father’s birthday, but the churches and the mayor of Spokane asked for more time in order to plan an appropriate celebration. So, it was moved to the third Sunday in June, and it’s been there ever since.
3. Although she began the work of officially recognizing the contributions of fathers to society, the first event meant to honor them was actually in response to a tragedy. On July 5, 1908, a small church in West Virginia organized a gathering to honor the fathers of their community, specifically the 362 men who had died the previous December in the devastating explosion at the Fairmont Coal Company mine. The event did not become an annual tradition, but it did set the stage for things to come.
4. In 1990 the number of single dads was 1.7 million; in 2020 that number had increased to 3.3 million.
5. In 2024 it was anticipated that $780 million dollars would be spent on Father’s Day cards. That represents about 72 million cards, making Father’s Day the fourth largest card-giving holiday.
6. Of those 72 million cards, only about 50% of them go strictly to dads. The rest are for husbands, sons, granddads, brothers, uncles, etc.
7. Hallmark has been making Father’s Day cards since the 1920s and currently has over 800 designs you can choose from; 25% of those are humorous.
8. Although Woodrow Wilson was the first to recognize a Father’s Day type celebration in 1916, Lyndon B. Johnson was the first president to make an official proclamation regarding the observance of Father’s Day. That was in 1966.
9. In 1972, President Richard Nixon signed the law which made Father’s Day a permanent holiday.
10. The most popular Father’s Day gift? Ties. Approximately 20 million of them are given to dads each year.
11. The most famous fictional dad? Homer Simpson . . . (I don’t know who decided this, so please don’t ask).
12. Mark Twain, noted American writer and humorist, gave us what is probably one of the most profound—and truthful—observations regarding fatherhood: “When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years".
If you were to re-read all of the above, you might notice that most of them are rather straightforward . . . a “just the facts, ma’am” kinda thing. You might also notice that one or two of them are just plain amusing. I mean, come on. Homer Simpson? And 20 MILLION TIES?! A tad more creativity in our gift-giving may be in order.
But the one I really hope you pay attention to is Mark Twain’s statement. How many of us as teens believed our fathers to be . . . how shall I say it? Over-protective (bordering on stifling)? Annoying? Old-fashioned? But if we were lucky . . . very, very lucky . . . they lived long enough for us to realize how much wisdom they had to share and how much guidance they had to offer. How much love they held for us and how much they sacrificed so we could thrive. Hopefully, they lived long enough for us to appreciate the men they were and, for some of us, still are. Long enough that we had the opportunity to learn from them—and to show them how much they were loved in return.
Father’s Day is just around the corner. For those of us celebrating a man who is only here in spirit, I hope we realize how blessed we really were. For those whose dads are still with them, be sure to give them a big hug this Sunday, the kind that lasts just a tad bit longer than usual—and tell them how much they mean to you. Actually, don’t wait until Sunday and don’t make it just an annual thing. Oh, and maybe think about something besides a tie . . .
About the author: Lisa Shackelford Thomas is a fourth-generation member of a family that’s been in funeral service since 1926 and has worked with Shackelford Funeral Directors in Savannah, Tennessee for over 45 years. Any opinions expressed here are hers and hers alone and may or may not reflect the opinions of other Shackelford family members or staff.
