How to Celebrate Father's Day
The third Sunday in June is Dad's time in the sun. And, contrary to what some cynics contend, this holiday was not the invention of a greeting card company - commercial greeting cards as we know them didn't even exist when Sonora Smart Dodd thought up Father's Day in 1909.
Steps:
1. Pamper him with whatever culinary ceremonies he enjoys most, whether it's breakfast in bed, a burgers-and-beer lunch at the local sports bar, dinner at his favorite four-star restaurant - or all of the above. (After all, Father's Day comes but once a year.)
2. Eschew the ties, shirts, golf balls and best-selling thrillers. Instead give him something you know he'd love but isn't likely to buy for himself: perhaps Ella Fitzgerald's songbook collection on CD, a drawing he's been admiring in a local gallery, or an autographed photo of his childhood baseball hero.
3. Look for clues. If he keeps saying he wishes he'd practiced the piano when his mother told him to, sign him up for lessons. If he reads every issue of "Gourmet" Magazine cover to cover, give him a gift certificate for a cooking course - in France, Italy or Switzerland, if you're feeling flush.
4. Give him the ultimate gift: your time. Present him with a gift certificate announcing the plan: dinner and a ball game, a day at the beach, a weekend jaunt to the PGA tournament, a camping trip in the Rockies, or simply an afternoon of side-by-side digging in the garden.
5. Make him a scrapbook commemorating "Life With Father" over the past year. Or go all out and make a scrapbook, or a series of them, covering your whole life together.
6. Honor your father's memory if he's no longer living. Send a donation to his favorite charity, or lend a hand to a cause he cared about.
7. Remember, you needn't limit Father's Day to your biological dad. Do something nice for all the father figures in your life, whether grandfathers, stepfathers, uncles, godfathers, big brothers or that first boss who helped you launch your career.
Trivia:
Father's Day was the brainchild of Sonora Smart Dodd, whose mother had died giving birth to her. At a time when many widowed men sent their offspring to live with relatives, Sonora's father reared her and her five siblings alone, on a farm in eastern Washington. In 1909, grown and married, Sonora was in church listening to a Mother's Day sermon when the thought struck her that fathers deserved credit, too - especially hers. Through her efforts, Spokane, Washington, held the first Father's Day observance the following year.
By 1924, the custom had spread through the country, and Calvin Coolidge made the first presidential proclamation in support of Father's Day. Nearly 60 years later, President Richard Nixon made it permanent in 1972, when he requested that Congress pass a joint resolution making the third Sunday in June a National Day of Observance in honor of fathers everywhere.
The Village of Tarrytown is located in northwest part of the Town of Greenburgh. It is adjacent to the Hudson River and the Tappan Zee Bridge. It has a total area of 5.7 sq mi where 47.54% of it is water.
Commuter service to New York City is available via the Tarrytown train station, served by Metro-North Railroad.
As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 11,090. Most of the village's population is white. About one-fifth of Tarrytown's population consists of Hispanics, many of whom are Ecuadorians and Dominicans.
History
Situated on the eastern shore of the Hudson River, in an area called the Tappan Zee, (Tappan for the Tappan Indians who once lived in what is now Rockland County, and Zee meaning sea in the Dutch language), lies the village of Tarrytown, a village rich in history and of course, local legend. It is a village of rolling hills, twenty-five miles north of New York City.
The first residents of what eventually became Tarrytown were the Weckquaesgeeks Indians. Their principle settlement was at the foot of Church Street at place they called Alipconk,or the Place of Elms.
The first white settlers were Dutch and that they were farmers, fur trappers, and fishermen. Tarrytown soil was light and loamy which was ideal for growing cereals; especially wheat. This led to the area being known as Wheat Town, or Terve Town, which later became mispronounced as Tarrytown.
At the turn of the century the Tarrytown skyline was filled with innumerable castle-mansions and Tarrytown was known as "Millionaire's Colony". "Millionaire's Colony" was the wealthiest place of its size in the world according to Tarrytown historian William C. Gross who wrote under the pseudonym of Wally Buxton. There were more than 65 grand estates existing at the time, but few are still standing.
The millionaires of "Millionaire's Colony" greatly contributed to Tarrytown's economy. Every mansion and castle was built mostly by local tradesmen, every estate had many local workmen, and every local merchant had his share of millionaire customers.
Tarrytown, being home to the "Millionaire's Colony", also attracted many students to its private schools and its boarding schools. The first private school to appear in the Tarrytown area was the Irving School for Boys in 1837. It was followed by the very fashionable Castle School, or Miss Mason's school for girls.
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