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Father's Day: Washington State
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Spokane in Washington State became the first place to observe Father's Day when Senora Dodd wanted show appreciation to her father, William Smart, who was a Civil War veteran. That was almost 100 years ago in 1910. In 1924 the President of the United States at the time, Calvin Coolidge, recommended national observance of the day.
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Regardless of when the first true Father's Day occurred, the strongest promoter of the holiday was Mrs. Bruce John Dodd of Spokane, Washington. Mrs. Dodd felt that she had an outstanding father. He was a veteran of the Civil War. His wife had died young, and he had raised six children without their mother.
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The most widely accepted story on the origin of Father's Day comes from Spokane, Washington. Sonora Smart Dodd, who grew up without a mother, was looking for a way to honor her father who had raised six children single-handedly. She brought the idea to her minister and fellow church members who embraced the idea and held the first Father's Day celebration on June 19, 1909.
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Mrs. John B. Dodd, of Washington, first proposed the idea of a "Father's Day" in 1909. Mrs. Dodd wanted a special day to honor her father, William Smart. William Smart, a Civil War veteran, was widowed when his wife died in childbirth with their sixth child. Mr. Smart was left to raise the newborn and the other five children by himself on a rural farm in eastern Washington state. It was after Dodd became an adult when she realized the strength and selflessness her father had shown in raising his children as a single parent. The first Father's Day was observed on June 19, 1910 in Spokane Washington.
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The origin of Father's Day is not clear. Some say that it began with a church service in West Virginia in 1908. Others say the first Father's Day ceremony was held in Vancouver, Washington.
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Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington, organizes the first Father's Day celebration on June 19, her own father's birthday. The mayor of Spokane and the governor of Washington state officially support the event. Dodd's father, a farmer and Civil War veteran, had been a single father to six young children after the death of his wife.
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