William Jackson Smart and his wife Ellen Victoria lived a simple life in Arkansas in the late 1800’s. Smart was a member of the First Arkansas Light Artillery unit which fought in the Battle of Pea Ridge during the Civil War. As new land began opening up in the west, the Smart family moved to Spokane, Washington, where William worked as a farmer.
Their oldest child Sonora was sixteen when her mother died in childbirth. She helped her father raise her five younger brothers, including the newborn baby. She saw what a heavy load her widowed father carried, and held him in great esteem. While listening to a sermon in 1910 about the newly recognized Mother’s Day, Sonora felt very strongly that fatherhood should also be recognized and celebrated. She approached the Ministerial Alliance of Spokane with her idea and suggested June 5, her father’s birthday, as the day to celebrate.
The Alliance elected to use the third Sunday in June instead, and on June 19, 1910, Sonora Smart Dodd’s idea became a reality. The first Father’s Day was celebrated, with the mayor of Spokane and the governor of Washington officially supporting the event. But Father’s Day didn’t begin as a national holiday. It began in ONE town, with ONE father. You could even say it began in the heart and mind of ONE daughter whose father’s impact in her life was overwhelming.
Back when women stayed home and did all the cooking and housework, there was an old saying, “Man may work from sun to sun, but a woman’s work is never done.” I can imagine that Farmer Smart’s work was truly never done, because he was both father and mother to his children.
Imagine being a “stay-at-home” dad in 1898. Anyone who knows anything about farming knows it is a sun-up to sun-down, seven days a week, 365 days a year job. And as if farming wasn’t enough, Smart had six young children to provide for and look after in addition to his farm.
To measure the impact of fatherhood, we only have to consider the negative side, the children raised in fatherless homes. According to the Center for Disease Control*:
· 85% of children with behavioral problems are in fatherless homes.
· 71% of high school dropouts are in fatherless homes.
· 85% of all youth in prison were in fatherless homes.
· 75% of all youth in chemical abuse centers were in fatherless homes.
· 63% of all youth suicides are children from fatherless homes.
Fathering a child may be easy, but being a real father is something quite different. With marriage on the decline, so many men live elsewhere and are absentees in the lives of their children, creating a void that seemingly nothing else fills. Living without a father breeds insecurity and rebellion in the lives of kids.
The spiritual impact of fatherlessness is also a problem. A father should give us an example and a perception of what our Heavenly Father is like. But so many children are deserted by their fathers. They have no concept of a Heavenly Father because they don’t have a loving, nurturing father who is present to provide for them, guide them, and help them deal with the issues of life.
I am proud of my husband Jim, who is a wonderful father, grandfather, and role model. I am in awe of all the things he has done over his lifetime and still does. He was a great pastor for 40 years; served on local, state, and denominational boards; built church buildings; and more importantly, has built lives. He has been a faithful provider, guide, and positive influence on our three children and seven grandchildren, all of whom think he hung the moon!
I want to honor my son Randy and my son-in-law Scott Berglan, both great fathers, pastors, and spiritual leaders of their families. They each serve as a wonderful example to their own three children. I also applaud Steve Keiffer, my grandson Adam’s dad, who is a Christian and a positive role model. Of course, I can’t let Father’s Day pass without celebrating the life of my Dad, Cecil Combs whose influential life story is detailed in my book, Living by Faith.
Fourteen years after the first Father’s Day celebration in Spokane, President Calvin Coolidge publicly supported plans for a national Father’s Day. It would be another 32 years before it was recognized by a joint resolution of Congress in 1956, and President Lyndon Johnson made it official proclaiming an official national holiday in 1966. More than sixty years after Sonora Smart Dodd’s idea was presented, President Richard Nixon established the first Sunday in June as Father’s Day by law in 1972.
Today, Father’s Day ranks as the fifth most popular card-sending holiday. Before the days of cell phones and free long-distance calling, it was the holiday with the most collect phone calls – kids calling their Dad’s and letting them pick up the tab. I doubt there was a dad out there who ever refused a call, or a kid who doubted that they would do so.
If you are a successful, or even a semi-average, functioning adult, your success is greatly due to the impact and influence of ONE father. So tell him that on June 19.
“Hello, Dad? Just wanted to wish you a Happy Father’s Day, and tell you that I love you and appreciate all you’ve done for me!” Say it now, while you still have your father with you.
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