Cards, burgers celebrate Father's Day

As we head into Father’s Day on Sunday, here are some interesting facts to share:

Dad good

for economy

— but not like mom.

According to IBISWorld, a publisher of business research, Americans are expected to spend $11 billion on gifts for Father's Day in 2008. This is about $7 billion less than the amount spent on moms for Mother’s Day. In economic terms, the average per capita spending on Father’s Day is expected to be in the range of $27.60.

How Father’s Day evolved

During a church sermon on Mother’s Day in 1910, a woman named Sonora Smart Dodd realized her father had been both mother and father to her since her mother had died in childbirth.

The hardships and sacrifices he endured raising her and her five brothers needed to be recognized. She thought there had to be other fathers whose feats of parenting had gone unnoticed.

She proposed to a group of ministers in Spokane, Wash., a special Father’s Day should be observed. She suggested the festivities be on her father’s birthday, June 5. The ministers liked the idea but had to move the date of the celebration forward two weeks to June 19 in order for them to prepare sermons for the new celebration.

Father’s day didn’t gain national acceptance as quickly as Mother’s Day. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson and his family celebrated the June 19th Father’s Day. President Calvin Coolidge recommended in 1924 that states hold their own Father’s Day observances.

It wasn’t until 1957 when Sen. Margaret Chase Smith wrote a scathing letter to Congress stating, in short, it was a most grievous insult to honor one parent and not both.

Another decade and a half went by before Father’s Day became an official observance. Sixty-two years after it was first proposed, president Richard Nixon signed the document making it official.

Show me the card

Father’s Day is the fifth largest in greeting card sales. About 85 million cards are exchanged each year.

A recipe only

dads would love:

Doughnut Burger

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

3 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley leaves

2 tablespoons grated onion

House seasoning (recipe follows)

2 tablespoons butter

3 eggs

6 slices bacon, cooked

3 hamburger buns

6 glazed doughnuts (preferably Krispy Kreme)

House seasoning:

1 cup salt

1/4 cup black pepper

1/4 cup garlic powder

Mix ingredients together.

Mix the ground beef, chopped parsley and grated onion together in a large mixing bowl. Season liberally with House Seasoning. Form 3 hamburger patties. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Add the burgers and cook until desired temperature, 4 to 5 minutes per side for medium-rare. Fry bacon in a hot pan until crisp. Remove and drain on paper towels. Set aside. While burgers are cooking, heat a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons butter. Crack 3 eggs into the pan. Cook until the yolks are just set and still slightly runny and remove. Place burger patties on the glazed doughnuts, as the buns. Top each burger with 2 pieces of bacon and a fried egg.

Doting dads

Is your dad like a catfish? A penguin? Check out some dads from the animal kingdom:

Catfish: A father sea catfish keeps the eggs of his young in his mouth until they are ready to hatch. He will not eat until his young are born, which may take several weeks.

Monkey: Marmoset fathers take care of their babies from birth. When one is born, the father cleans it, then carries it to the mother only when it needs to be nursed.

Penguin: A father Emperor penguin withstands the Antarctic cold for 60 days or more to protect his eggs, which he keeps on his feet, covered with a feathered flap. During this time, he doesn’t eat a thing.

Rhea: Father rhea takes sole care of his young. From eggs to chicks, he feeds, defends and protects them until they are old enough to survive on their own.

Sand grouse: A father Namaqua sand grouse flies as far as 50 miles a day in order to soak himself in water and return to his nest, where his chicks drink from his feathers.

Sea horse: The male sea horse has a pouch in which the mother lays her eggs. The father then looks after the eggs for about two months, until they hatch and leave the pouch. He continues to protect the young until they are able to live on their own.

Wolf: When the mother wolf gives birth to pups, the father stands guard outside their den and brings food to the mother and pups. As they grow, he not only plays with them but also teaches them how to survive. Wolves continue to live together much as human families do.

Sources: Information from the book “Panati’s Extraordinary Origins of Every Day Things” gathered by Jim Wimmer. Other information from GateHouse News Service sourced from Wikipedia.org, USA.gov, Infoplease.com and Foodnetwork.com