Opinion/Ng: Who founded Father's Day? It was a daughter who wanted to honor her dad

On this Father’s Day, and I say this as a dad myself, let’s praise daughters, for it was a daughter who helped us get our day in the sun.

Sonora Smart Dodd is widely credited as being the guiding force behind this day when our families shower us with attention and we, depending on where we are in life, receive cards written in a child’s scrawl that is part doodle, but all heart, or we are gifted with an ode to our favorite pastime. A running shirt feels like an Olympian’s uniform. A new box of golf balls has us fantasizing a 50-foot Tiger Woods putt.  A cheeseburger on the grill is the same as a filet mignon from a Michelin star restaurant.

On this day, even the most mild-mannered of us, hopefully, find the appreciation worthy of a superhero.

We can thank Sonora Smart Dodd for Father's Day

According to the history books, Sonora was attending services in Spokane, Washington, in 1909, during one of the early Mother’s Day services. Her father, William Jackson Smart, was a Civil War veteran who was twice widowed. Smart, the role model of an unofficial stay-at-home single dad, raised Sonora and her five brothers. Surely, Sonora thought, if we are to pay homage to our mothers, we can find time to salute our fathers.

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So, in 1910, the first Father’s Day was observed in Spokane.

But over the course of the next 60-odd years, one dutiful daughter’s wish led to a national holiday with the help of a couple of other dads; Woodrow Wilson (three daughters) personally marked the day in 1916; Calvin Coolidge (two sons) signed a Father’s Day resolution in 1924; Lyndon Johnson (two daughters) signed an executive order making it the third day in June; and in 1972, Richard Nixon (two daughters) signed a congressional resolution that made it a national holiday.

Maybe it’s just a coincidence that three of the mentioned presidents only had daughters.

Either way, there are about 72 million of us dads in the U.S. now who have our own day. Of course, we’re not our father’s father anymore.

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According to the latest data on fatherhood from the Pew Research Center, how we view ourselves as dads has changed along with society. Pew says their research shows that 57% of dads said they considered parenting crucial to their own identity and that 54% view being a parent as rewarding. The majority of us working dads said our single greatest challenge isn’t finding a good tee time, but balancing work and family life.

Those numbers are nearly identical to how moms view themselves — and are a far cry from the days at the dawn of the baby boom generation, when men saw their role in the family as breadwinners and disciplinarians, and women were cast as homemakers and nurturers.

Dollars and dads

But there are telling stats that sons and daughters still hold moms in higher regard, especially when it comes to spending patterns.

According to the National Retail Federation, approximately $32 billion was expected to be spent in 2022 on Mother's Day in the United States, with the average expenditure of $245 marking an increase of $25 over the previous year.

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Dads? Well, remember, it's the thought that counts.

The federation estimates that about $20 billion will be spent on Father's Day in the U.S., with an average expenditure of about $172 per family, a $20 decrease from last year.

Daughters know best

In the interest of full disclosure, I have two daughters, Isla Clare Ng and Esme Maria Ng, both of whom have done a good job of raising me. I am a better man for being a father, and a far better human being for being their father.

They're both young women now, 27 and 21, and we have celebrated our decades worth of Father's Days, marked by homemade cards to homemade meals. But one Father's Day remains the most memorable.

Isla was about 14 and Esme 8 when they catapulted themselves in tandem onto my bed that sunny morning and bounced around until they had my undivided attention.

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"DADDY, DADDY! It's Father's Day," they yelled. "You can do anything you want.  You can go play tennis or you can go play golf or ..." as their voices reached a crescendo befitting a chorus of angels, ".. YOU CAN TAKE US TO THE BEACH!!"

An hour later, I found myself stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic heading to the Jersey Shore, the station wagon packed with sand toys, beach blankets and sunscreen. Lunch was chicken fingers and French fries. It was a day, as dads know, when we are pack mule, lifeguard and chauffeur, and we wouldn't have it any other way. It remains my favorite Father's Day of them all.

Somewhere up there, through the heavens and time, Sonora Smart Dodd was smiling on fathers everywhere.

David Ng is executive editor of the Providence Journal. Email him at dng@providencejournal.com.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Providence editor pays homage to the daughter who founded Father's Day