Man Law Mondays

After the widespread success of Mothers Day in 1909, a young girl named Sonora Smart Dodd from Spokane, WA told her preacher that she wanted to create a similar holiday for her father William Jackson Smart. Her mother had passed shortly after the birth of her sixth child and left William to raise them alone. It must have been extremely tough for the Civil War verteran and the family, but he must have done the very best he could to have his daughter want to honor him and fathers everywhere with a special day just for them. Although the General Store should have sold him that extra bottle of, “Just For Men,” he sure looks like a proud parent and hard working man to me. He also looks like he shops at, By Robert James on Orchard St. 

Father’s Day was first celebrated in Spokane later that year.  After over twenty years of low popularity, Sonora got in touch with the New York Associated Men’s Wear Retailers. Together they founded the ”Father’s Day Council” to nationally promote Father’s Day as a holiday in 1938. The intent for publicizing Fathers Day differed for each party. The plan was to boost mens gift sales around the holiday, but the main reason for Sonora was to honor Fathers for everything they have given their families. It wasn’t until 1972 that President Nixon finally made it a permanent national holiday. The struggle that it took for the public to recognize the importance of Father’s day equally parallels with the amount of hard work, time and sometimes un-noticed effort that our Father’s put in every single day to make sure we have the things we need to survive and grow. Love, food, clothes, water, shelter, a college education and a million other things that go into being a great Dad.

We don’t always see what our Mom’s and Dad’s teach us as we grow up, but the older I get the more I realize how much I have learned from Dad. Through his words and actions throughout the course of my life, he has given good advice and guidance 98.9% of the time. Whether listening to him haggle with a used car salesman, teaching me how to be a gentleman (then asking me to pull his finger 10 minutes later) or delivering one of his many rules of life, he always did and continues to do the best he can to take care of his family first. The things he consciously and inadvertently taught me are things that I continue to use and strive for everyday of my life.  

In honor of my Dad (and Dad’s everywhere) I wanted to list some words of wisdom and general great phrases, from the self-proclaimed, “O-Wise-One,” that my family and I have heard over and over throughout our lives.  Thanks to my wonderful sister Britt and Ma Dukes for reminding me of some of the best one liners.