Honoring Fathers, Freed Slaves & Lou Gehrig
As heard on the radio:
ORIGINS OF FATHER'S DAY- It is generally accepted that the driving force behind the first Father's Day in this country was Mrs. Sonora Smart Dodd, born in Creston, Washington. Her father, a Civil War veteran, as a single parent raised six children in Spokane, Washington, She was inspired by Ann Jarvis' efforts to create a Mother's Day. Although she initially suggested June 5, the anniversary of her father's death, she did not provide organizers enough time to make arrangements, and the celebration was deferred to the third Sunday of June.
There are some who claim that a Harry Meek, past President of Chicago's Uptown Lions Club, was the creator of the first Father's Day celebration. This story has it that Meek promoted the idea through Lions Club speeches.
According to this version, the first Chicago celebration occurred on June 19, 1910 - the third Sunday in June (Meek's birthday) and the very day of Sonora Smart Dodd's celebration in Spokane - the rescheduled day after the June 5 date was postponed.
To confuse the issue further, there is evidence that the first Father's Day Service was conducted two years earlier (1908) at a church (Central Church) in Fairmount, West Virginia (Recall that the Mother's Day Shrine is in Grafton, WV)by Dr. Robert Webb.
The holiday was officially declared by President Nixon in 1972.
The idea of a Father's Day is a universal one. In the Roman Catholic Tradition, patriarch Day is celebrated on Saint Jospeh's Day, March 19.
Countries that observe Father's Day on the Third Sunday of June include Argentina, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, France, India, Pakistan, Ireland, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru, the Philippines, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Turkey, U.K., U.S., and Venezuela.
Countries with other celebration dates include: Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, etc. - See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father%27s_Day
JUNETEENTH:
On June 19, 1865, the Union General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston to inform the inhabitants about the end of the Civil War two months earlier. Two and a half years after Lincoln's Emancipation proclamation, Order Number 3 finally freed the last 250,000 slaves who had been unaffected by Lincoln's announcement (There was little Union presence in Texas during the Civil War). June 19th eventually was shortened to "Juneteenth".
The day has come to be known as "America's Second Independence Day".
Traditionally, observance of Juneteenth tended toward church-centered celebrations featuring food, fun and self-improvement. Although origins were in Texas (official holiday proclaimed in 1980) the Civil Rights movement of the 1960's helped spread the tradition across the country. Today two of the nation's largest events are staged in Milwaukee and Minneapolis. Today some are petitioning Congress to have Juneteenth declared a national holiday.
FINALLY: June 19 is the birthdate of Lou Gehrig (born June 19, 1903). Records may be broken but the Iron Horse remains an American legend.
ORIGINS OF FATHER'S DAY- It is generally accepted that the driving force behind the first Father's Day in this country was Mrs. Sonora Smart Dodd, born in Creston, Washington. Her father, a Civil War veteran, as a single parent raised six children in Spokane, Washington, She was inspired by Ann Jarvis' efforts to create a Mother's Day. Although she initially suggested June 5, the anniversary of her father's death, she did not provide organizers enough time to make arrangements, and the celebration was deferred to the third Sunday of June.
There are some who claim that a Harry Meek, past President of Chicago's Uptown Lions Club, was the creator of the first Father's Day celebration. This story has it that Meek promoted the idea through Lions Club speeches.
According to this version, the first Chicago celebration occurred on June 19, 1910 - the third Sunday in June (Meek's birthday) and the very day of Sonora Smart Dodd's celebration in Spokane - the rescheduled day after the June 5 date was postponed.
To confuse the issue further, there is evidence that the first Father's Day Service was conducted two years earlier (1908) at a church (Central Church) in Fairmount, West Virginia (Recall that the Mother's Day Shrine is in Grafton, WV)by Dr. Robert Webb.
The holiday was officially declared by President Nixon in 1972.
The idea of a Father's Day is a universal one. In the Roman Catholic Tradition, patriarch Day is celebrated on Saint Jospeh's Day, March 19.
Countries that observe Father's Day on the Third Sunday of June include Argentina, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, France, India, Pakistan, Ireland, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru, the Philippines, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Turkey, U.K., U.S., and Venezuela.
Countries with other celebration dates include: Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, etc. - See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father%27s_Day
JUNETEENTH:
On June 19, 1865, the Union General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston to inform the inhabitants about the end of the Civil War two months earlier. Two and a half years after Lincoln's Emancipation proclamation, Order Number 3 finally freed the last 250,000 slaves who had been unaffected by Lincoln's announcement (There was little Union presence in Texas during the Civil War). June 19th eventually was shortened to "Juneteenth".
The day has come to be known as "America's Second Independence Day".
Traditionally, observance of Juneteenth tended toward church-centered celebrations featuring food, fun and self-improvement. Although origins were in Texas (official holiday proclaimed in 1980) the Civil Rights movement of the 1960's helped spread the tradition across the country. Today two of the nation's largest events are staged in Milwaukee and Minneapolis. Today some are petitioning Congress to have Juneteenth declared a national holiday.
FINALLY: June 19 is the birthdate of Lou Gehrig (born June 19, 1903). Records may be broken but the Iron Horse remains an American legend.
posted by eric model | 1:57 AM
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