Father’s Day: A Tribute Rooted in Love, Legacy, and Perseverance

Each June, families in Atlantic City and across the nation pause to celebrate the fathers and father figures who have shaped their lives with love, strength, and sacrifice. But few know the story of how this day—so often marked with ties, barbecues, and heartfelt tributes—came to be a national holiday.

A Quiet Beginning in West Virginia

The earliest known observance of Father’s Day took place not in a city council or presidential proclamation, but inside a modest church in Fairmont, West Virginia. On July 5, 1908, just months after a mining explosion took the lives of 362 men, many of them fathers, parishioners gathered at Williams Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church South to honor those who perished.

According to the Farmer’s Almanac, this was “the first known Father’s Day service” in America. It wasn’t an official holiday—but it was a powerful moment of community remembrance.

The Vision of Sonora Smart Dodd

The push to establish a lasting Father’s Day tradition came a year later, not from lawmakers or lobbyists, but from a young woman named Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington. Inspired by a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909, Dodd was moved to honor her father, a widowed Civil War veteran who raised six children on his own.

She proposed that churches and civic groups in Spokane celebrate fathers in June 1910, the month of her father’s birthday. On June 19, 1910, the city held the first official Father's Day celebration.

According to Encyclopedia Britannica, “The first Father’s Day was held on June 19, 1910… It became a U.S. national holiday in 1972.”

Dodd’s campaign sparked a local tradition that slowly gained national attention—but not without challenges.

A Struggle for Recognition

Unlike Mother’s Day, which President Woodrow Wilson formally recognized in 1914, Father’s Day met resistance. Some saw it as unnecessary. Others criticized the growing commercialization of both holidays.

Even so, momentum grew. President Calvin Coolidge supported the idea in 1924, and by the 1930s, a National Father’s Day Committee had formed in New York City. Still, the holiday lacked federal recognition.

That changed during the social reforms of the 1960s and 1970s. In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a presidential proclamation naming the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day. But it wasn’t until 1972, under President Richard Nixon, that Father’s Day was officially made a national holiday.

As TIME Magazine reports, “It wasn’t until 1972 that Father’s Day received official recognition from President Richard Nixon,” ending a decades-long campaign for legitimacy.

Why It Matters Today

Here in Atlantic City, Father’s Day is about more than gifts—it’s about gratitude. From fathers mentoring youth in our recreation centers, to those working two jobs to provide for their children, to the countless men who serve as positive role models, the spirit of the day runs deep.

It also speaks to values many in our community understand well: sacrifice, resilience, and the importance of family.

Sonora Smart Dodd believed that the influence of a loving father should be honored as profoundly as that of a mother. More than a century later, her vision lives on—in Sunday cookouts, heartfelt tributes, and quiet moments of appreciation shared between fathers and children throughout our city.

Father’s Day Fast Facts:

• 1908: First Father's Day memorial service held in Fairmont, WV
• 1910: Sonora Smart Dodd organizes first official Father’s Day celebration in Spokane, WA
• 1924: President Coolidge endorses idea of a national Father’s Day
• 1966: President Johnson signs a proclamation for Father's Day
• 1972: President Nixon makes Father's Day a federal holiday

Celebrate in Atlantic City

Whether you're honoring a father, grandfather, mentor, or community elder, Father’s Day is a moment to reflect on those who stand tall for their families. Across Atlantic City, churches, schools, and families continue to celebrate that legacy every June.

This year, let’s remember not just the holiday—but the people and the history behind it. Join Atlantic City Focus today at noon for our The Men and Our Community Town Hall meeting at Beat the Daily Grind cafe, located at 3807 Atlantic Ave., Atlantic City, NJ 08401.

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*** GET UP WITH ATLANTIC CITY FOCUS and RAYMOND TYLER! ***