Thoughts to Ponder . . .
from Bill Varney, URBANherbal

June 2006

Your source for herbal advice about plants, recipes using herbs, personal care products and much much more . . .

Dear Farm Family & Friends,

"It is a wise father that
knows his own child"
~ William Shakespeare

Father's Day is June 18th and lots of graduations are going on throughout the country. On a personal note, my son, Roy is graduating from Fredericksburg High School on June 2nd, so he has been busy with lots of activities as he ends one part of his life and begins another. Many of you have been waited on by him over the years here at the Herb Farm.

Did you know that Sonora Dodd of Washington, first had the idea of a "father's day?" She thought of the idea for Father's Day while listening to a Mother's Day sermon in 1909.

Sonora wanted a special day to honor her father, William Smart. Smart, who was a Civil War veteran, was widowed when his wife died giving birth to their sixth child.  Mr. Smart was left to raise the newborn and his five other children on a rural farm in eastern Washington state.

After Sonora became an adult she realized the selflessness her father had shown in raising his children as a single parent. It was her dad that made all the parental sacrifices and was in the eyes of his daughter, a courageous, selfless, and loving man. Sonora's father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father's Day celebration in Spokane, Washington on the 19th of June 1910.

President Calvin Coolidge, in 1924, supported the idea of a national Father's Day. Then in 1966, President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the third Sunday of June as Father's Day. President Richard Nixon signed the law which finally made it permanent in 1972.

Be sure to remember you Dad or Father figure this year!

"A man knows when he is growing old because he begins to look like his father."
- Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Like lots of guys, I enjoy spicy foods so the herb for June is Cayenne Capsicum frutescens.

We have some super scents for guys, as well as great gourmet foods, a gift certificate for our spa, or a fulfilling, relaxing meal.

Have a good, relaxing summer!

Blessings,
Bill Varney & All of the Fredericksburg
Herb Farm Family