Page 8 THE VILLADOM TIMES I & II • June 11, 2014 How to make Father’s Day more enjoyable for Dad Dad gets to be king of his castle at least one day during the year. Come mid-June, children near and far scramble for ideas to treat their fathers to a special day and award him with gifts for being a role model, pro- vider, and confidante. Father’s Day activities should be centered around Dad’s interests. With that in mind, the following are some ideas to honor Dad or another special man in your life. Sports Sunday: If Dad is a sports fan, his idea of spending a fun-filled afternoon very well may be cheer- ing on his favorite players. Whether your father enjoys golf, tennis, baseball, soccer, or another sport like hunt- ing or fishing, chances are there is a television broadcast on that you can watch together. Otherwise, you can sur- prise Dad by purchasing tickets to a sporting event and making a day of it at the ballpark. Beach bound: A relaxing day at the beach may be the perfect way to spend Father’s Day. Dad can enjoy the entire family while sitting back in his beach chair and watching the waves roll in. Pack a picnic lunch with his favorite foods and a cold beer, and Dad may just say this was his best celebration yet. Adventure seeker: If yours is a father who enjoys living on the edge, a Father’s Day activity built around action and adventure should be a winner. Take Dad base jumping, rock climbing, scuba diving, or race car driv- ing. Any of these activities is bound to get his adrenaline pumping. R&R: Dad’s idea of the perfect Father’s Day may be an afternoon free of obligations and deadlines. A relax- ing day in the yard swimming laps in the pool or hitting a few grounders to your waiting baseball mitt may be all the excitement he needs. Toss a few steaks on the grill to give the day a perfect ending. Impromptu party: Some dads like to be the center of attention. A Father’s Day party thrown in his honor, complete with friends and family, can be an entertaining way to spend the day. If you are worried about inter- rupting others’ Father’s Day plans, host the gathering the Saturday before Father’s Day and let Dad be the life of the party. Finger foods, barbecue, beverages, and some background music are all that you need to host a festive function. Plan a Father’s Day celebration with your dad in mind. Cater to his favorite activities and opt for entertainment he will be sure to enjoy. Fathers still being honored after 100 years Sonora Dodd of Washington developed the con- cept for a day celebrating fatherhood while listening to a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909. Dodd realized there should be a similar day set aside to honor fathers, most especially her own father, William Smart. A Civil War veteran and widower, Smart raised his six children on his own. When Dodd became an adult, she realized how self- lessly her father had acted and how difficult it must have been to raise such a large family. In his honor, she held a father’s day in Spokane, Washington on June 10 – her father’s birthday. One of the more noteworthy societal shifts in the second half of the 20th century was the growing number of single-parent families. Whereas single-parent homes were an anomaly during the first half of the 1900s, by the turn of the century the percentage of single-parent homes had grown substantially. One of the common misconceptions about single- parent homes is that they all are headed by women. According to a 2009 report from the U.S. Census Bureau, an overwhelming majority of the 13.7 million single par- ents across the country are women. However, 16 per- cent of single parents are fathers, a figure that equates to roughly 2.2 million men serving as custodial parents across the country. For those households, Father’s Day is a day that bears extraordinary significance. The idea of a Father’s Day holiday was supported by President Calvin Coolidge in 1924, but it wasn’t until 1966, when President Lyndon Johnson signed a presiden- tial proclamation declaring the third Sunday of June as Father’s Day, and subsequently when President Richard Nixon signed the law in 1972, that the holiday became permanent. Since then, Father’s Day has been celebrated annually worldwide, although on varying dates. A few examples follow: * March 19: Bolivia, Honduras, Spain, Italy, Portu- gal * May 5: Portugal * May 8: South Korea * First Sunday in June: Lithuania * June 5: Denmark * Second Sunday in June: Austria, Belgium * June 17: El Salvador * Third Sunday in June: Argentina, Chile, People’s Republic of China, Colombia, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Ireland, Panama, Puerto Rico, South Africa, United Kingdom, Venezuela * June 21: Guatemala * Last Sunday in June: Haiti.