Father’s Day was introduced by Sonora Smart Dodd in Spokane and was celebrated statewide in Washington in 1910. The intent was to complement Mother’s Day in celebrating fathers and fatherhood; but Americans resisted the holiday, perceiving it as just an attempt by merchants to replicate the commercial success of Mother’s Day. However, Father’s Day proponents persisted over the decades celebrating on the third Sunday each June.
In Doylestown, the merchants did, in fact, take advantage of the commercial opportunities of the holiday, as can be seen in these June 1950 newspaper ads:
• Nyce’s Shoe Store at West and State Streets advertised Esquire socks, which were “designed by the country’s leading sock stylists in our Fifth Avenue Fashion Laboratory.” [Nyce’s is now Caldwell’s Embroidery.]
• Art’s Men’s Shop at 5 S. Main Street featured Mohawk shirts, Buxton wallets, socks and Pioneer belts and buckles “handmade in the heart of Texas with a lifetime warranty.” [Art’s, located in the Lenape Building, is now Bella’s Boutique.]
• Donald Frey’s Shoe Store at 12 S. Main Street encouraged the shopper to buy Soft Stepper shoes by Roblee for “new fun for your feet.” [Frey’s is now the Native Café coffee shop.]
Although observed and promoted by presidents Woodrow Wilson, Calvin Coolidge, and Lyndon Johnson, Father’s Day wasn’t made a permanent national holiday until President Richard Nixon signed it into law in 1972.
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