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Some Father's Day History

On June 19, 1910, a Father's Day observance was celebrated through the efforts of  Sonora Smart Dodd  of  Spokane, Washington . After listening to a church sermon at Spokane's Central Methodist Episcopal Church in 1909 about the newly recognized Mother's Day, Dodd felt strongly that fatherhood needed recognition, as well. She wanted a celebration that honored fathers like her own father, William Smart, a Civil War veteran who was left to raise his family alone when his wife died giving birth to their sixth child when Sonora was 16 years old. The following year with the assistance of Reverend Dr. Conrad Bluhm, her pastor at Old Centenary Presbyterian Church (now Knox Presbyterian Church), Sonora took the idea to the Spokane YMCA. The Spokane YMCA, along with the Ministerial Alliance, endorsed Dodd’s idea and helped it spread by celebrating the first Father’s Day in 1910. Sonora suggested her father’s birthday, June 5, be established as the day to honor all Fathers. However,

February's Birthstone- The Amethyst

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Amethyst is the purple variety of quartz and the most valued member of the quartz family. It must be purple to be amethyst, but it can display a range of shades including deep purple, light lilac, lavender and mauve. Top quality amethyst is a deep medium purple with rose-colored flashes. Its purple color made it a stone of royalty for many thousands of years.  Throughout history amethyst has been used to guard against drunkenness and in overcoming addiction. It has been used for hearing disorders, insomnia, headaches and other pain. It has been suggested that it is used to stabilize mental disorders. It is thought to make the wearer gentle and amiable. Amethyst "powers" include: dreams, healing, peace, love, spiritual fulfillment, courage,  psych ism, protection against thieves, and happiness.