Almost 4,000 years ago a young lad from Babylon named Elmesu spent many days carving a message of love and devotion to his father. He either really loved his Papa or maybe he was angling for a new chariot…who knows? Scholars now believe this was the precursor to our modern day Father’s Day tradition which began here in the United States in 1910. Ms. Sonora Louise Smart Dodd from Spokane, Washington was listening to a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909 when she realized fathers frequently took a back seat to the public love and respect shown to mothers. Ms. Dodd was very close to her father, a Civil War veteran, since her mother died during childbirth when Ms. Dodd was a teenager. Instead of placing the newborn and his other five children with relatives, Ms. Dodd’s father chose to keep all the children at home and raise them himself, something not normally done during that era.

Supported by the Spokane Ministerial Association and the local YMCA, the first Spokane Father’s Day was celebrated on June 19, 1910. In 1924 President Coolidge recommended Father’s Day become a national holiday though it took until the 1960’s before President Lyndon Johnson once again came through as he did with Mother’s Day and designated the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day. Finally in 1972 Father’s Day was signed into law by President Nixon.

Father’s Day has always been very special to the entire staff at Ellis Dental but then when Reid was born it became even more so. And now that Reid will soon be a big brother, Father’s Day is a huge event at the Ellis household. So we’d like to wish all Dads, Granddads and Stepdads a very Happy Father’s Day! May your day be filled with good food, good quality time with your family and no ties!