[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 97 (Thursday, June 12, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1226]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        IN HONOR OF FATHER'S DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. AL GREEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 12, 2008

  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, I wish to honor our Nation's 
fathers this Father's Day because they are the foundation of the family 
and heroes in the eyes of our Nation's children. Fathers are a vital 
part of the strength of the American family and I ask that my 
colleagues honor the fathers of our Nation on Sunday, June 15, 2008.
  Father's Day is celebrated worldwide at different times of the year, 
but in America, we celebrate it on the third Sunday of June. Father's 
Day has a long history in the United States, although it was not 
officially recognized until the presidency of Richard Nixon. After the 
Civil War, the casualties were immeasurable and many women lost their 
fathers, husbands and family members. Two notable women, Sonora Smart 
Dodd of West Virginia and Grace Golden Clayton of Washington, acted 
upon their loss by encouraging their communities and states to 
commemorate the lives of their fathers. Sonora Smart Dodd, whose 
single-parent father raised 6 children before his death, was the first 
to propose such a celebration of fatherhood in 1909.
  Father's Day is a time for Americans nationwide to show reverence and 
love for the father figures in their lives. It is also a time to pay 
tribute to those men who are single parents or guardians and still seem 
to be legends in their children's eyes. On June 15, I urge my 
colleagues and fellow citizens to celebrate Father's Day.

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