Father's Day!
The history of Father's Day is very interesting indeed. In 1909 one lady tried to start it as a holiday in Fairmont, West Virginia, in a way to honor 361 men, 250 of them fathers, who had lost their lives in a tragic mining accident. Due to so many other activities and celebrations of July 4th, the holiday did not get the recognition it needed. Just a year later, another young lady in Spokane, Washington, wanted to honor her father, a Civil War veteran, named William Jackson Smart. She wanted to honor him for his raising her and her 5 siblings ALONE! A single dad of six! Imagine that! She spoke to her minister about a special service recognizing fathers. He was unable to do that the first Sunday of June, which was her father's birthday. He planned to hold a special service the third Sunday in June. Other ministers heard of his idea and followed in suit. The actual holiday was not made official until 1972!...