1910: The First Father’s Day is Celebrated
After the success of the Mother’s Day holiday created in the early 20th century (attributed to Anna Jarvis), clamoring began to be heard from those who wanted a similar holiday for fathers. The credit for this usually goes to Sonora Dodd of Spokane, Washington. It was first celebrated on this day in 1910 at the Spokane YMCA. Dodd’s father was a single parent raising six children. After hearing a sermon about Jarvis’ Mother’s Day a year earlier, Dodd suggested her idea to her pastor of the Central Methodist Episcopal Church. Several other clergymen agreed and it was decided that the third Sunday of each June would be the designated day. Incidentally, International Men’s Day is celebrated in many countries on November 19 for men who are not fathers. (Image: Pixabay)
1865: The First Juneteenth
President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, establishing that all enslaved people in the Confederate states, be set free. But it took until this day in 1865 for that to become so. Federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, the last state to end slavery. Up until then, Texas didn’t have a significant presence of Union troops and so, many slave owners from other states moved to Texas with their slaves thinking that they would be spared from losing their “property.” It is estimated that 250,000 slaves were freed that day. On this day in 1866, the first “Jubilee Day” was celebrated by freedmen in Texas with music, barbecues and prayer services. After awhile, Jubilee Day became Juneteenth, short for “June Nineteenth” and as black people moved away from Texas, they took their tradition with them. In 1979, Texas became the first state to make Juneteenth an official holiday. Today, 48 states recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday (although the holdouts, Hawaii and South Dakota, are mulling it over.)
Birthdays
- 1897: Moe Howard (member of the 3 Stooges)
- 1902: Guy Lombardo (bandleader)
- 1903: Lou Gehrig (baseball player)
- 1950: Ann Wilson (singer)
- 1954: Kathleen Turner (actress)
- 1970: Brian Welch (singer)
- 1972: Poppy Montgomery (actress)
- 1972: Robin Tunney (actress)
- 1978: Zoe Saldana (actress)
Writer of Pop Culture 
Leave a Reply