Father's Day: The History Behind the Day to Honor Dad

Father's Day is a wonderful time to reflect on the influence of the male role models in our lives. For many, celebrating on June 15th does not stop only with the biological fathers in their lives, but rather often includes mentors, coaches, and teachers as well. It is no doubt a wonderful tradition to be reminded to thank those around us, but just how did this holiday begin?

Through a little research, we were able to learn the below history behind Father's Day:

On July 5, 1908, a West Virginia church sponsored the nation’s first event explicitly in honor of fathers, a Sunday sermon in memory of the 362 men who had died in the previous December’s explosions at the Fairmont Coal Company mines in Monongah, but it was a one-time commemoration and not an annual holiday. The next year, a Spokane,Washington woman named Sonora Smart Dodd, one of six children raised by a widower, tried to establish an official equivalent to Mother’s Day for male parents. She went to local churches, the YMCA, shopkeepers and government officials to drum up support for her idea, and she was successful: Washington State celebrated the nation’s first statewide Father’s Day on July 19, 1910. Slowly, the holiday spread. In 1916, President Wilson honored the day by using telegraph signals to unfurl a flag in Spokane when he pressed a button in Washington, D.C. In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge urged state governments to observe Father’s Day.

(taken from www.history.com)

Whether it is the son who became a Dad for the first time this year, your friend who is raising his kids on his own, or a mentor you admire, unique gifts are a wonderful way in which to honor the father figures in your life.

Below find some of our top picks for the father figures among us:

FOR THE TENNIS LOVER:

With the French Open (or Roland Garros, in French) beginning this week, snatch up one of our vintage posters from the event for the tennis lover in your life. Click on the above to learn more.

FOR THE JOKER: