The first Father’s Day celebration was held in Spokane, Washington, in 1910. But it wasn’t until forty years ago Father’s Day finally became a permanent national holiday. It took 62 years of promotion and lobbying to overcome resistance to another “commercial” holiday.
No matter how you celebrate Father’s Day (commercially or otherwise), it can be great fun to look back at images of fathers from the past–or grandfathers, great-grandfathers and fathers of the future. Many images of fathers in Nebraska Memories were taken by Harvey L. Boston, owner of a photography studio in David City, Nebraska, (from 1893 to 1927) including a
self-portait with his two young daughters.
Boston’s photographs include young fathers, such as
Fred Keller, at left with his wife, Alice, and their young child. The
collection also includes fathers who might have started a second family at an older age, such as
William H. McGaffin, at right, who was photographed with his son Wesley, born when his father over 60. McGaffin, a widower who married a second time, had already had 14 children with his first wife.
Other Boston images show multiple generations. The collage to the far left includes members of the
Gilbert W. Rogers family; in the photograph two fathers are holding younger children. In the center are four generations of the
H. W. Lichliter family. And to the right are four generations of the Harper family:
James, Morgan, Jack and Phillip.
Some Nebraska Memories images show fathers at work with their children, such as Joe Gatto with his two sons in his
store in Lincoln, Nebraska (from the
Townsend Studio collection). Others show them relaxing with their families, like the
John Birkel family to the right. But, work or play, take some time to celebrate all fathers!
Visit
Nebraska Memories to search for or browse through many more historical images digitized from photographs, negatives, postcards, maps, lantern slides, books and other materials.
Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. Nebraska Memories is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see
http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information, or contact
Beth Goble, Government Information Services Director, or
Devra Dragos, Technology & Access Services Director.
