SPOKANE, Wash. — Father's day is quickly approaching this Sunday and holds a special meaning in Spokane.
The first Father's Day was celebrated in 1910 created by Spokane resident Sonora Smart Dodd.
Dodd created the day when she was listening to a Mother's Day sermon at the Central Methodist Church where she was inspired to create a day in honor of Fathers, according to the City of Spokane's website.
Dodd's dad William Smart was a single father and widower as his wife died during childbirth.
Dodd would go on to persuade leaders from the Ministerial Alliance and local YMCA to sign a petition for a day honoring fathers.
In doing this, Dodd was able to get the mayor of Spokane and governor of Washington to approve which led to the proclamations celebrating the first Father's Day on June 19, 1910.
Over the following 60 years, she advocated for Father's day to become a national holiday. She was successful in 1966 when President Lyndon b. Johnson signed a proclamation declaring every third Sunday in June to be recognized as Father's Day.
Six years later, it was made a permanent holiday by President Richard Nixon.
On Father's Day in 2010, Dodd's home in Spokane it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The home is located at 603 S. Arthur Street.
