The Mother of Father's Day Sonora Smart Dodd

Unlike Mother s Day it took Father s Day several decades before it caught on The woman most cited as the founder of Father s Day is Sonora Smart Dodd Inspired by Anna Jarvis successful campaign for Mother s Day and a desire to honor men like her father William Jackson Smart a widower who raised her and her brothers solo Dodd organized the first Father s Day in her hometown of Spokane Wash While she was initially successful in raising awareness and enthusiasm for the new holiday it failed to gain national recognition before she left home to study at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago during the 1920s Father s Day also lacked the overwhelming commercial appeal of Mother s Day as fathers can be a notoriously difficult group to buy gifts for But the desire to recognize fathers for the role they play in our lives never waned and thankfully Dodd lived to see Father s Day officially became a national holiday in 1972 In honor of hard-working and influential dads here are a few heart-warming Best Dad Ever

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