FATHER'S DAY

Sunday, June 17, is Father's Day.  My father is now in a nursing home four hours away 
and I will not be able to talk to him; but he will be in my thoughts.  My oldest son has left 
home and will be in Michigan and I will not be able to see him; but he will be in my 
thoughts.  As I get older, Father's Day becomes more meaningful and precious.  I'm glad 
we pause as a nation to honor these important men in our lives.  

The story of Father's Day is fascinating.  Mrs. John B. Dodd, of Washington, first 
proposed the idea of a "father's day" in 1909. Mrs. Dodd wanted a special day to honor 
her father, William Smart. William Smart, a Civil War veteran, was widowed when his 
wife (Mrs. Dodd's mother) died in childbirth with their sixth child. William Smart was 
left to raise the newborn and his other five children by himself on a rural farm in eastern 
Washington State. It was after Mrs. Dodd became an adult that she realized the strength 
and selflessness her father had shown in raising his children as a single parent.

The first Father's Day was observed on June 19, 1910, in Spokane Washington. At about 
the same time in various towns and cities across America, other people were beginning to 
celebrate a "father's day." In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge supported the idea of a 
national Father's Day.  Finally, in 1966, President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential 
proclamation declaring the 3rd Sunday of June as Father's Day. 

Father's Day has become a day to not only honor your father, but all men who act as a 
father figure. Stepfathers, uncles, grandfathers, and adult male friends are all to be 
honored on Father's Day.

Take a few moments on Father's Day to express your appreciation to "dad."  It may be 
with a phone call, an invitation to lunch, a bunch of flowers or a simple hug; whatever it 
may be, just express in both words and actions your love for your father.  

And remember, you have a Father in Heaven that deserves your appreciation as well.

In the Father,
Leslie S. Chapman