Was Father’s Day a sneaky card makers profit making scheme? Actually, no! In 1909, Sonora Louise Smart Dodd, raised by her single father, a Civil War veteran, thought there should be a day similar to Mother’s Day for dads. She Petitioned the Spokane Ministerial Association and the local YMCA, setting out her reasons and ideas for an annual Father’s Day. She received such support that Spokane held its first Father’s Day observance on Sunday, June 19, 1910.
President Woodrow Wilson wanted to make Father’s Day a national holiday, but Congress feared it would take away from Mother’s Day. Mrs. Dodd took her mission on the road, but met with harsh criticism. President Calvin Coolidge even tried in 1924, but to no avail. It wasn’t until Maine’s U.S. Senator Margaret Chase Smith declared, either we honor both parents or neither, that President Lyndon B. Johnson, by Executive Order in 1966, set aside the third Sunday of June as Father’s Day. However, it wasn’t until 1972 that President Richard Nixon made it official. Mrs. Dodd died in 1978 at the age of 96 and had luckily lived to see the day Father’s Day became an official national observance.
In honor of our hardworking and loving papas, come on out to Pismo Beach for some fun in the sun! There are so many activities to choose from and places to wine and dine. We have lodging specials and family friendly things to do, and even dog friendly accommodations.
Show your fathers how special they are by spending a few days in Pismo Beach—the Wine, Waves & Beyond are calling!
