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When we decided to write about Father's
Day, a friend, father of two and a non-romance writer, asked, "How can
Father's Day have anything to do with writing a romance novel?"
"Au contraire," Tia replied.
"Fatherhood could have much to do with it." She mentioned books where
the beloved heroes were raising a child or children...and how it only took a
heroine's arrival to sweeten the mix. And, of course, men, who weren't fathers,
but became one under unusual circumstances. She proceeded to inform him about
Secret Baby books.
He shook his head. "Secret babies?
You're kidding, right?"
"Nope." She grinned. "There
are even stories where the heroine (the mother) doesn't know when or how her
baby was conceived."
"Oh." He walked away totally
befuddled.
We loved it. Befuddling men is fun.
Let's take a look at the special day
that venerates those proud, paternal-driven papas. Fathers have been around
since Adam first fertilized Eve, but, it wasn't until the early1900's ministers
and women's magazines seriously touted the righteousness of fatherhood.
Whatever for we have no idea. We decided to go look into the reason.
It began with Mr. William Jackson Smart. His
daughter, Sonora Smart (a neat first name, isn't it?), aka Mrs. John Bruce Dodd
of Spokane Washington, came up with the idea in 1909 while listening to a
Mother's Day sermon (a holiday which originated two years earlier.)
Sonora, along with five brothers, had been raised by
their widowed father, a Civil War veteran. Following the death of his wife in
childbirth, Smart struggled to work his eastern Washington farm, while keeping
his children clothed, fed and properly reared.
Mr. Smart, an admirable man, considering in the
early 20th Century men frequently lost their wives to childbirth. The majority remarried
quickly so they wouldn't have to care for children, specifically newborn
infants, alone.
Widowed men, often farmers, looked for a widow with
children. Marrying her, he not only had a woman seeing to his home and
children, her offspring were needed help with the never-ending farm chores. Many
second marriages turned into genuine love, others didn't, but both ways, more
children were born and families often grew as large as 6 to 15 kids living at
home at one time. Now, that's what we call being a fertile father.
Sonora Dodd's proposal was met with enthusiasm by
local ministers. The date suggested was the fifth of June (William Smart's
birthday), but many of the ministers needed more time to write their sermons,
so the celebration was moved to the 19th, the third Sunday of the month.
Word spread and newspapers across the country
endorsed this new holiday. One notable supporter to Mrs. Dodd's idea was orator
and political leader William Jennings Bryan. He wrote "...too much
emphasis cannot be placed upon the relation between parent and child."
However, even with notable support and the holiday being accepted across the
nation, members of the all-male Congress at the time felt to proclaim the day
official might be interpreted as a self-congratulatory pat on the back. (Go
figure, huh?) So the holiday remained a minor one.
But it didn't remain a silent one. In 1916,
President Woodrow Wilson and his family personally observed the holiday, and
President Calvin Coolidge wrote in 1924 that states, if they so wished, should
do whatever they wanted as far as celebrating the holiday.
In 1937, New York
City founded a National Father's Day Committee and decided to choose a theme
for each Father's Day and select a Father of the Year.
In 1957, Senator Margaret Chase Smith wrote to
Congress saying Americans should honor both parents. To single out just one and
omit the other was "...the most grievous insult imaginable."
Yet, it wasn’t until 1966 when President Lyndon B.
Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the 3rd Sunday of June to
be identified as Father's Day. In April of 1972, President Richard Nixon signed
it into Public Law 92-278.
How about that? It took 62 years for fathers to be
officially recognized!
Go...Dads!
Here's a bit of trivia for you. Did you know the
Romans observed a Father's Day, every February...but...just for dead ones.
Think about it. It could be an interesting twist for a Secret Baby story.
Here's some of our family photos.
Tia's great-grandparents, George and Katharina Meir (later changed to Meyers) because
my great-grandfather wanted to sound more American.
Katharina married George after he lost his first wife, leaving him with two
children. Katharina too was a widow with three children. All together they had
10 children. And, yes, they had a large farm. Everyone worked. Including my
grandmother, Elizabeth. Despite she was a girl, she worked along side her father
out in the fields
Tia with her dad. Note bandage on my chin. Fell off a stone ledge and split
open my chin. Had to have stitches. What can I say, I was quite a rough and
tumble kid.
Grandparents JW and Emma Eaton. Emma was also a second wife. However they didn’t live
on a farm. My grandfather owned a barbershop and ice cream parlor. Can’t
remember if my grandmother had been married before. I don’t think she had been.
But between them they had quite a few children. Can’t remember right now what
the total was, darn it. What I do remember my dad was the last one born.
Dani and her dad.
Yes, I'm the little baby he's holding. Uncle Hershel sitting on the curb. This is in southern California.
Dani's grandparents.
Grandpa H.L Christian and his second wife, Mae. Grandpa had 6 kids when she married him and together they had 6 more including my mom. The little girl in picture is my mother. All worked the farm in Arkansas.
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