Happy Father’s Day!

Photo of my father, wandering the village of his grandfather

Thinking About Fathers by Katheryn Laible

Happy Father's Day!

Here is a photo of my own father, wandering through the village of his grandfather, telling stories about him, the mother he raised, his own father, and his father…

I am grateful for him, for them, for my sweet husband, and for all who give it their best to be good men and serve as fathers. It means more than I can say….Thank you!

Brief History

While inspired by its advent, Father’s Day wasn’t formalized until several decades after Mother’s Day. Apparently, it met resistance from dads who found the idea unmanly. Like Mother’s Day’s own founder, many moreover objected to the commercialization of the whole thing. Still, the sentiment runs deep and, in 1972, Richard Nixon finally signed a bill making it official. 

One poignant impetus for Father’s Day in the US was a memorial held in the wake of an awful mining disaster in Fairmont, West Virginia. More directly related to the celebration we know, was a campaign initiated by a woman named Sonora Smart Dodd. She was inspired by a sermon on Mother’s Day and the experience of her father, who raised her and her five siblings alone after their Mom passed in childbirth. Working with local religious leaders, in 1909 they dedicated June 19th (her father’s birthday month) to honoring all fathers. 

You can read about that and other fascinating bits in this Britannica entry, as well as in this History.com article, and in the Farmer’s Almanac.

A Few Resources

I love this collection of “The Best Quotes on Fatherhood” from The Art of Manliness…

Did you know there’s a National Fatherhood Initiative that since 1994 has been dedicated to helping communities and human service agencies foster fatherhood?

Another website, The National Center for Fathering, has been run by Drs. Ken and Michelle Watson Canfield since 1990, offering a wide array of resources and reflections designed to provide practical support to men who wish to be better fathers. 

 

Fatherly, produced by global media company BDG, seeks to “empower men to raise great kids and lead more fulfilling adult lives through original reporting, expert parenting advice, and hard-won insights.”

Thank You - For This Guy and Everyone Else Giving it Their Best

Personally, I am really, super grateful for all who step up to serve in a fathering role. This especially includes all those folks who for one reason or another end up wearing both mother and father hats, and those who are determined to be the fathers they wish they had.  

One sweet and broadly helpful example is this guy, Rob Kenney who hosts “Dad, how do I?” on YouTube. Kenny’s dedicated to doing his “best to provide useful, practical content to many basic tasks that everyone should know how to do.” He started out just trying to do it for his own kids, and now we all benefit.

There are so many guys like this, and so many others who give more of themselves than they knew they had to uplift and serve the next generations. Oh, the stories we could tell…Grateful to have witnessed some of them. It means more than we may realize. 

Grateful!

Juneteenth

June 19th marks the sixth nationally-recognized Juneteenth. It commemorates that day in 1865, 2-1/2 years after the Emancipation Proclamation and over a month after the last battle of that hard, bloody war, when the last Black American slaves in Galveston, TX were finally set free. For many, the holiday celebrates our Nation’s ability to confront its immoralities and more fully realize its founding principles. For others, it’s much more personal.

The National Museum of African American History & Culture  offers a rich history of the celebration. Juneteenth has been celebrated in black communities since 1866, starting as church gatherings. Prior, beginning in 1863, there were “Watch Night Services” praying for the day to come. Modern celebrations include street fairs, parades, concerts, and, yes, still lots of prayer. In 2021, Juneteenth was finally recognized as a federal holiday.

Another good way to honor this day is to study history, and to reflect on how, while Juneteenth itself recalls a moment of triumph worthy of celebration, humans remain human. We still struggle to see, learn from and honor each other. The pursuit of “a more perfect union” remains an ongoing project that requires ongoing care.

We think it’s also important to note that, even in the darkest of times, all sorts of folks have given it their best to overcome all sorts of stuff in order to make things better for everyone. This happens more than we might realize, and often in places we might not expect. None of us can heal things alone. We all have a lot to learn. May we gratefully reinforce all who give it their best to advance civil rights and otherwise endeavor to more fully realize the acknowledgment and admonishment entailed by our nation’s Declaration of Independence that, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

We are also grateful for folks who have long worked to capture and uplift stories focused on the unique history of local Black Americans. In the Town of Huntington, for example, these range from more prominent folks like the first Black American Published Poet, Jupiter Hammon and renowned author and orator Booker T. Washington, to Greenlawn’s famously entrepreneurial “Pickle King,” Samuel Ballton, to artifacts of sometimes unclear origin that share stories of life as a Black American throughout our local history. Here’s a fascinating lecture on slavery in Huntington offered here by Town Historian Robert C. Hughes, and a CBS report on an archaeological dig at the Peter Crippen House.

All testify to the determination of the human spirit to preserve culture and rise above, despite great challenges that continued well after Juneteenth and into today.

Here are a few upcoming events that endeavor to do the same:

Juneteenth Jubilee in Valley Stream

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation will hold its second annual Juneteenth Jubilee. The event will feature cultural entertainment, cultural food, information booths, interactive activities, children’s games, children’s inflatables, and more!

The Long Island Nets will be hosting a FREE special basketball clinic for children ages 7 to 14 on the newly upgraded basketball courts. Registration is still open. There will also be a special welcome address from Assemblywoman Michaelle C. Solages highlighting the importance of the Juneteenth Holiday and what it means to celebrate Black freedom. This year’s program is sponsored by NY Life and Sunrun.

When: Friday, June 19, 2026. 12-4pm,  
Where: Valley Stream State Park
Fee: There is an $8 Vehicle Use Fee. Event activities are FREE
Basketball Camp! Youth ages 7-14 are invited to join the Long Island Nets for a free Basketball Academy Clinic from 1-3pm. Registration is required for the basketball clinic.
 

Long Island Authors at the Walt Whitman Birthplace

Long Island Author Cheryl Williams is again collaborating with the Walt Whitman Birthplace Museum to Celebrate Juneteenth.

The event is free and open to the public. Come be inspired by poetry and spoken word centered on the story of Liss and enjoy beautiful saxophone renditions from Carl Bartlett as they “Celebrate History, Honor Freedom. Embrace Culture.” Enjoy a merch stand, a food truck and delicious complimentary cupcakes. 

When: Friday June 19, 5-7pm
Where: The Walt Whitman Birthplace, 246 Old Walt Whitman Rd, Huntington Station

Juneteenth Jubilee at the Cathedral of the Incarnation

Join the Episcopal Diocese of LI in a celebration of scholarship and justice at this Juneteenth Jubilee. There, the Rt. Rev. Lawrence C. Provenzano will present scholarships to those selected for the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island’s Barbara C. Harris Scholars Program. These $5,000 awards are presented to carefully selected college and vocational/technical students who are the descendants of enslaved people and who have exhibited exceptional academic excellence and dedicated themselves to creating a more just world through to their communities.

The Diocese invites you to join us for this celebration of scholarship and justice:

When: June 20, 2026 from 11am-1pm
Where: Cathedral of the Incarnation, 50 Cathedral Ave, Garden City. 
To Register: While the event is free and open to the public, registration is required 

 

Long Island's Biggest Juneteenth Cultural Celebration and Father's Day Marketplace

In an endeavor to bring together culture, community and small business, the Black Legacy Partners and NAACP Hempstead Branch present “Long Island’s Largest Juneteenth Cultural Festival.” This will include a Father’s Day Weekend Marketplace showcasing “black-owned brands, gifts and experiences for dads.”

When: Saturday, June 20, 12-6pm
Where: Hicksville LIRR Outdoor Grounds, 125 W. John St., Hicksville, NY
For More Info: Email hello@blacklegacypartners.org

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Happy Father’s Day!

Photo of my father, wandering the village of his grandfather

Thinking About Fathers by Katheryn Laible

Happy Father’s Day!

Here is a photo of my own father, wandering through the village of his grandfather, telling stories about him, the mother he raised, his own father, and his father…

I am grateful for him, for them, for my sweet husband, and for all who give it their best to be a good man and serve as a father. It means more than I can say….Thank you!

Apparently Father’s Day didn’t come about until quite a few decades after Mother’s Day. In fact, while in the US it was apparently initiated by a woman named Sonora Smart Dodd in 1909, whose dad raised her and her five siblings alone, it didn’t become an official national thing until 1972!

You can read about that and other fascinating bits in this Britannica entry, as well as in this History.com article.

I love this collection of “The Best Quotes on Fatherhood” from The Art of Manliness…

Did you know there’s a National Fatherhood Initiative dedicated to helping foster fatherhood?

I am also really, really grateful for all who step up to serve in a fathering role, This expecially includes all those folks who for one reason or another end up wearing both mother and father hats, and those who are determined to be the father they wish they had.

One sweet and broadly helpful example is this guy, Rob Kenney who hosts “Dad, how do I?” on YouTube. Kenny’s dedicated to doing his “best to provide useful, practical content to many basic tasks that everyone should know how to do.” He started out just trying to do it for his own kids, and now we all benefit.

Grateful!

Happy Father’s Day!

Photo of my father, wandering the village of his grandfather

Thinking About Fathers by Katheryn Laible

Happy Father’s Day!

Here is a photo of my own father, wandering through the village of his grandfather, telling stories about him, the mother he raised, his own father, and his father…

I am grateful for him, for them, for my sweet husband, and for all who give it their best to be a good man and serve as a father. It means more than I can say….Thank you!

Apparently Father’s Day didn’t come about until quite a few decades after Mother’s Day. In fact, while in the US it was apparently initiated by a woman named Sonora Smart Dodd in 1909, whose dad raised her and her five siblings alone, it didn’t become an official national thing until 1972!

You can read about that and other fascinating bits in this Britannica entry, as well as in this History.com article.

I love this collection of “The Best Quotes on Fatherhood” from The Art of Manliness…

Did you know there’s a National Fatherhood Initiative dedicated to helping foster fatherhood?

I am also really, really grateful for all who step up to serve in a fathering role, This expecially includes all those folks who for one reason or another end up wearing both mother and father hats, and those who are determined to be the father they wish they had.

One sweet and broadly helpful example is this guy, Rob Kenney who hosts “Dad, how do I?” on YouTube. Kenny’s dedicated to doing his “best to provide useful, practical content to many basic tasks that everyone should know how to do.” He started out just trying to do it for his own kids, and now we all benefit.

Grateful!

Heroes Take the Field: USA Patriots Amputee Softball Team

Photo of the USA Patriots with Joe Bartumioli. Photo Credit: Steve Caputo

Come to The Firefly Artists 7/22 starting at 5pm for a special reception with extraordinary heroes: The USA Patriots Amputee Softball Team.

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