Since Father’s Day this year happens to fall on the first day of summer, it’s going to be a popular day for summer BBQs and quality time outdoors. Kicking off the season with grilling, cornhole, and time with family sounds just about perfect. We wish all the fathers a relaxing day with family.
The origin of how Father’s Day came to be, however, contrasts with how we celebrate it today. It was first established to honor the sacrifice fathers make as providers and protectors. We traced the history of the first Father’s Day observances back to tragic circumstances that not only honored fathers, but also gave rise to the need for insurance policies that provide for their families when they can no longer do so.
Deadly Disaster Left Surviving Families with Nothing
In 1907, two mine explosions in Monongah, West Virginia killed over 360 men. At least 250 of those killed were fathers, which left their families grieving and financially struggling to survive. About six months after that disaster, the largest mining accident in U.S. history, a woman named Grace Golden Clayton organized a memorial service to honor all the fathers who had lost their lives. This was the very first recorded Father’s Day service in the nation.
The accident pre-dated workers compensation insurance and survivor benefits. Families relied on private donations and minimal payments from the victims’ employers to keep food on the table. In response to a tragedy of this magnitude, several insurance reforms were implemented. Workers compensation, industrial insurance, and group life insurance programs all became widely accepted programs in part due to the Monongah Mine Disaster. The Bureau of Mines was also established in order to set safety standards for the entire mining industry.
At that time in the very early 20th century, these insurance policies were highly innovative, and absolutely necessary for supporting both businesses and families after workplace incidents. Modern businesses understand that people work in order to provide for themselves and often for others. When accidents happen that result in injury or death, the employee’s financial obligations do not go away. Group life insurance is a key benefit in many industries, even those that do not involve a high risk of accidental death, in order to ensure at least some protection is in place for the survivors of an employee who dies.
The National Movement for Father’s Day
Almost a year after that first Father’s Day memorial service, all the way on the other side of the country in Spokane, Washington, Sonora Smart Dodd got her own inspiration to celebrate fathers. While listening to a Mother’s Day sermon, Sonora felt that her widowed father deserved similar recognition. William Smart was a Civil War veteran who was raising his six children following the death of his wife. Sonora wanted to honor her father’s “leadership and love” for his family.
Sonora lobbied all the local organizations and churches to host Spokane’s first Father’s Day celebration on June 19th, 1910. She then spent the next six decades working toward making Father’s Day a national holiday. President Johnson signed a 1966 proclamation designating the third Sunday in June to be Father’s Day. Then Congress passed a joint resolution and President Nixon officially signed Father’s Day permanently into law in 1972. Sonora was 90 years old and glad to see her mission accomplished.
Sonora Dodd was more than a pioneer for fathers. Married to John Dodd, an insurance agent, she was also a savvy businesswoman. She and her husband owned a funeral home that they ran together. Sonora saw firsthand in many different ways just how much fathers protect and provide for their families. Life insurance is an essential provision that dads, moms, and everyone else who has people depending on them should have in place. Unfortunately, there are still far too many families like the Monongah survivors who are forced to rely on private charity when their beloved breadwinner passes away.
Insurance Policies that Protect Family Priorities
The “what happens if…” discussions aren’t exactly a favorite during the Father’s Day family BBQ, but they are absolutely necessary. Whether you are a dad now or hope to be one someday, you have a responsibility to care for the people who depend on you. Making sure they can pay the bills and buy groceries if something happens to you is just one way of continuing to provide. Do you have a clear picture of how much they might need and what protection you currently have in place?
If you are not quite sure what your life insurance policies look like right now, or you have questions about what your employer’s policies mean, reach out to our office. Smyrl Insurance works with both personal insurance and commercial insurance, so we can help you get a clear understanding of every policy that covers you and your family members. We can also walk you through the risks of relying on your employer as your only strategy for an untimely death. Our job is to educate, nurture, and empower you to wrestle with the difficult scenarios and make sure your family can pick up the pieces if they lose their favorite dad. We provide commercial insurance solutions like group life and workers compensation as well as personal life insurance at affordable rates for our clients in Hatfield, Lansdale, Souderton, Harleysville, and throughout the region in Montgomery County and Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
