 |
Bay News 9
Local Programming
On Demand
About
Community
Market Place
Services
In celebration of Dad
Ninety-nine years ago, a woman named Sonora Smart Dodd was sitting in church, listening to a sermon about Mother's Day and thinking about her father. She had been raised by her father after her mom died in childbirth, and she wanted a way to celebrate his hard work, love and sacrifice. The following year, she organized the first Father's Day in Spokane, Washington. She chose June, because that was the month of her father's birth.
Support from high-profile public figures like Williams Jenning Bryan was immediate. President Calvin Coolidge recommended it as a national holiday in 1924, and President Lyndon B. Johnson designated the third Sunday of June as Father's Day in 1966. In 1972, Father's Day was officially recognized as a holiday by President Richard Nixon.
Today, Father's Day is a full-fledged Hallmark holiday, which more cynical types might say is yet another way to sell cards and consumer goods. (However, spending on Father's Day gifts still lags behind the cash dropped on Mother's Day gifts, by approximately $7 billion, according to IBISWorld.) The federal government is even getting in on the act, launching a public service campaign to encourage fathers to be positive, involved role models for their children.
But for those of us with fathers who cooked for us, helped us with our homework, played basketball with us and taught us how to be good people, Father's Day is an opportunity to let our dads know just how much we love and appreciate them, just as Dodd intended all those years ago when she came up with the idea in the first place.
One local dad, leading by example
Louis Reyes (left) listens to his son talk about following in his footsteps.
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY (Bay News 9) -- This Father's Day weekend is especially exciting for one local dad.
Father of two Louis Reyes graduated from the University of Phoenix yesterday with a master's degree in business administration. He said he was happy to set a good example for his two children.
"They're showing me the value of education as well, by following my steps," Reyes said. "That would be the best Father's Day gift ever."
Reyes worked on his master's degree for about two years. His children said they want to follow his lead.
"Before I was like I don't really know if could do it," said Reyes' son, Louis, who wants to be an engineer. "But now that i see him do it, I know that I could do it."
His daughter Suzette, who hopes to go to law school, is just as proud.
"It just makes me really happy to think of how hard he worked to accomplish this," she said.
Citrus man, 87, named Outstanding Father
CITRUS COUNTY (Bay News 9) -- Joseph Gambino is at an age when people should be taking care of him.
Instead, the 87-year-old man spends his days taking care of his daughter, 51. She suffered a brain-stem injury when she had an accident at the age of three, and she's been physically incapacitated ever since. She is dependent on Gambino for everything.
As if that doesn't keep him busy enough, his wife fell ill with Parkinson's disease and dementia six years ago. Now, Gambino takes care of both women all day, every day.
Gambino was nominated by readers of The Citrus County Chronicle. Reporter Keri McHale has profiled him, along with other extraordinary dads, in Sunday's issue of The Chronicle.
Be in the Know with Bay News 9 Now!
Get news, weather, and traffic alerts delivered directly to your computer desktop, e-mail, or cell phone with Bay News 9 Now.
- Subscribe for free!
More Bay Area Stories
- Fay not done with Florida
- 3 Democrats face off in U.S. House District 5 election
- Dr. Delay: The Little Old Lady From Pasadena
- School closings, other Bay area cancellations
- Fay a soaker as it heads to central Florida
- Deputies searching for 3 men who raped 2 women
- Check area airports for flight delays
- Bay area evacuations called off
- School closings, other Bay area cancellations
Get the latest news, weather, and traffic on your computer desktop, your cell phone or via e-mail with Bay News 9's free alert service, Bay News 9 Now.
Become An Asterisk Hunter!
At Bright House Networks, we prefer to keep things simple.So the next time you're looking for TV, home phone and Internet service with a 30-day, money-back guarantee, but without the fine print surprises, call
1-866-976-EASY.
Learn more at AsteriskHunters.com.
