“Caleb Chapman's Crescent Super Band is a music group directed by Caleb Chapman. It consists of 25 musicians aged 15–18.”

Maestro Movements

On a Sunday in 1909 Sonora Smart Dodd was sitting in a pew in her small church located in Spokane, Washington. She was a little perplexed as she listened to a Mother's Day sermon.  Because, she didn’t remember her Mother. Her mom died while bearing her sixth child.  

Sonora was 16 at the time and as a result of her mother’s death she was quickly introduced to rigors of parenthood because she began helping her father raise her younger brothers, including her infant brother Marshall. Still, the sermon inspired her. It reminded of her own upbringing, and turned her heart to memories of her father, William Jackson Smart, who raised her and her five siblings alone after the death of their mom.

The oration in playing out in her church caused her to wonder how many others were like her? Motherless, but blessed with a devoted and loving father who made a home and a happy childhood for his children without the help of his wife.

After church, she complemented the preacher on his sermon, and suggested that a special day should also be dedicated to fathers. She asked her pastor if they could have a special day for fathers the next Sunday, the first Sunday in June that year, because it was the day after her own father's birthday. And, after some discussion with other ministers in the area, it was agreed that the third Sunday that June would give all of the cooperating pastors the time they needed to prepare such a sermon.

The first Father's Day celebration occurred in Spokane on June 19, 1910, but the concept didn't really catch on. In fact, it was mocked by newspapers and dismissed by many men who believed the holiday's sentimental nature and gift-giving elements were just a commercial deception. So, when Sonora, the pivotal conductor and champion of Father’s Day, went off to study in Chicago in the 1920s “Father’s Day” all but disappeared. But on her return to Spokane in the 1930s, she resumed her mission of spreading the celebration of Father’s Day across the United States.

It wasn’t until 1957 when Senator Margaret Chase Smith, representing the State of Maine, took Congress to task when she accused them of overlooking fathers for 40 years while recognizing mothers. And nine years later, in 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson finally designated the third Sunday in June as Father's Day through a presidential proclamation. It took another six years, until 1972, for Father's Day to become a nationwide holiday. 

You might not remember that Father's Day started in 1909. You probably won't remember the name of the woman who made Father's Day her life's mission. And that's okay. Because what you will remember is that Father's Day came to be because one man made a deep and lasting impact on the life of his daughter. And, there are other people who have continued to keep the spirit of fatherhood alive by becoming a pivotal element the lives of children who aren’t members of their own blood lines. One such person is Caleb Chapman.

I met Caleb at a different type of celebration, yet I was immediately mesmerized by his skills of conducting young musicians. I watched as he conducted youth protégé leading them to play exquisite music. Yet, the music wasn’t the real story being played out in front of me. 

He was conducting others toward positive movement forward, during a pivotal moment in their lives. Just as any good father does in the lives of their children, allowing them to become the person they really are. I don’t know if the talented musicians who were playing in front of me, under the Caleb’s leadership, had active fathers in their lives or not. But, I knew their lives were being molded by a maestro conductor, just as Sonora Smart Dodd’s life was impacted by a strong, loving father.

I also know that everyone benefits from a strong loving father, whether such a maestro-conducting-father shares blood with those he serves or not.

Bravo!  Bravo, William Jackson Smart and Caleb Chapman and to all those who are acting as true fathers.