Happy Father’s Day from Imperial Club! Some scholars say Father’s Day can be traced to over 4,000 years ago to the ruins of Babylon. There is recorded a young boy called Elmesu, who carved a Father’s Day message on a card made out of clay, wishing his father good health and long life. From this point on, several countries around the globe have remained in this custom of celebrating fathers. Modern history tells us this tradition is owed to Miss Sonora Dodd of Spokane, Washington. This woman is said to have heard a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909 and felt there should be an equal celebration for fathers. She felt strongly about making this a celebration because of the great role and affection her father showed her. Dodd was inspired by activist Anna Jarvis’ struggle to promote Mother’s Day and thus began a campaign to get Washington State on board to make Father’s Day a holiday. Her efforts were received well and rewarded when in June 1910; Washington State celebrated its first Father’s Day. Though there was initial hesitation, the idea gradually gained popularity around the US and came to be a common celebration in many cities and states. During each of their presidential terms, President Wilson and Coolidge both approved and supported this idea of Father’s Day in order to “establish more intimate relations between fathers and their children and to impress upon fathers the full measure of their obligations.”
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