Sonora Smart Dodd, the daughter of a twice-widowed Civil War veteran dad, was inspired by his example to found the first Father's Day in Spokane, Washington.
on Mother’s Day — then well established — at Central United Methodist Church in Spokane on May 9, 1909. Prohibitionists in Boston celebrate as the 18th Amendment's ban on alcohol took effect at midnight on Jan. 16, 1920. The zeal to ban alcohol was fueled in part by drunkenness that largely afflicted men and led to family upheaval.
Sonora Smart Dodd worked for decades to advance the cause of Father's Day. The Spokesman-Review touted developments on June 18, 1932. She married John Bruce Dodd in 1899. She attended art school in Chicago from 1918 to 1922, taking her only son, Jack, with her; then, she gained her high school diploma in 1926, at age 44, and designed dresses in Hollywood from 1929 to 1930. Father's Day thrived in Spokane and spread to other communities. It failed, however, to generate the same widespread national enthusiasm that Mother's Day enjoyed years earlier.
Whitworth College in Spokane presented Dodd with a plaque in recognition of her national achievement in 1972. She was honored as the founder of Father’s Day at the World’s Fair Expo in Spokane in 1974 and even after her death has continued to enjoy recognition. Dodd was selected to the Washington Statehood Centennial Hall of Honor by the Washington State Historical Society in 1987. She was also feted citywide in 2010 as Spokane hosted a civic celebration honoring its role as the birthplace of Father’s Day.
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