{"id":59369,"date":"2020-06-19T11:57:38","date_gmt":"2020-06-19T15:57:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=59369"},"modified":"2023-08-11T13:31:30","modified_gmt":"2023-08-11T17:31:30","slug":"dads-and-the-classic-fathers-day-gift-ties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/dads-and-the-classic-fathers-day-gift-ties.html","title":{"rendered":"Dads and the Classic Father\u2019s Day Gift: Ties"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/em><\/strong> In this article, Gena Philibert-Ortega wonders how and when a tie became a common Father\u2019s Day gift, and digs into old newspapers to learn more. Gena is a genealogist and author of the book \u201cFrom the Family Kitchen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Father\u2019s Day is strongly associated with one particular gift: the necktie. That accessory that helps men look \u201cput together\u201d is the symbol of a Father\u2019s Day gift, though not always in a positive way. I never understood this association since my dad, who worked for the railroad, never wore a tie \u2013 and when he wasn\u2019t wearing his \u201cwork clothes\u201d he was wearing jeans and t-shirts. I think if I ever presented him with a gift of a tie, he would have begrudgingly thanked me and then quickly forgotten about it.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: patterned neckties. Credit: Andrzej Sienkiewicz & Micha\u0142 Krupi\u0144ski; Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now that\u2019s not how all dads feel about ties as gifts, and historical newspapers \u2013 such as GenealogyBank\u2019s Historical Newspaper Archives<\/a> \u2013 provide some insight into Father\u2019s Day ties.<\/p>\n

Dads and Ties<\/strong><\/p>\n

Where did the idea that the perfect Father\u2019s Day gift was a tie come from? I\u2019m not exactly sure, but it\u2019s important to remember that Father\u2019s Day is rooted in the early 20th century and it wasn\u2019t until 1972 that it was made a national holiday.* Observing Father\u2019s Day on the third Sunday of June didn\u2019t happen until 1966.<\/p>\n

The first newspaper mention of buying dad a tie that I found was this October 1922 advertisement for a local retailer in Fairmont, West Virginia. The Maunz store ad implores readers to \u201cDon\u2019t let father wear an old necktie Sunday.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Fairmont West Virginian (Fairmont, West Virginia), 6 October 1922, page 14<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After that initial advertisement I found, it seems that every year retailers reminded families to buy their dad a necktie for Father\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n

\"An
Beaumont Journal (Beaumont, Texas), 15 June 1923, page 10<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By the 1950s the idea of giving dad a tie for Father\u2019s Day was a given, as evidenced from this 1955 newspaper article reminding readers that Father\u2019s Day is the \u201ctraditional necktie gift day,\u201d as it provides some short history facts about ties.<\/p>\n

\"An
Dallas Morning News (Dallas, Texas), 14 June 1955, page 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Does He Want Ties?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Before ties became the perfect gift for Dad, it would seem that in some cases women were cautioned from buying them. This 1892 article says that women shouldn\u2019t pick out ties for men at all \u2013 and if they do and the man graciously accepts, it\u2019s true love. Why shouldn\u2019t women pick out ties? This article claims that women are likely to pick out what men call a \u201cpretty necktie\u201d \u2013 and men supposedly hate pretty neckties.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio), 30 October 1892, page 11<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Maybe that author has a point. A 1922 Efficient Housekeeper column harkens back to when women made crocheted neckties for their men. Women in the 1920s who took up crochet hooks to supply male loved ones might \u201csee the ghost of their own demure girl-ancestors as they worked.\u201d I will say I do like the way the article harkens back to female ancestors, but I wonder if it was a look that men truly wanted.<\/p>\n

The article comments:<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a good deal of sentiment about doing something that a past generation enjoyed doing. It makes one want to open the old family album and recall the stories that were told us about sweet characters of the long-ago people whose photographs we find there.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The crochet pattern for a tie is included in the column.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Albuquerque Journal (Albuquerque, New Mexico), 6 January 1922, page 5<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What Will Dad Get This Year?<\/strong><\/p>\n

As time goes by, the idea of what makes a perfect gift changes as well. I surveyed dads I knew on Facebook and about half had received ties for Father\u2019s Day \u2013 but not surprisingly, they were also the ones who wore them for work. The idea of giving a tie for Father\u2019s Day may still be a reality for some; but for many it\u2019s the yearly joke, like this article encouraging the giving of technology gadgets:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Great Necktie Migration begins each year in early June and culminates mid-month, when neckties from all over the land leave their retail spawning grounds to join their kin in the closet on Father’s Day.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"An<\/a>
Augusta Chronicle (Augusta, Georgia), 28 May 2003, page 22<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If the dad in your life isn\u2019t the tie-wearing sort, you can still have some fun with the idea of that quintessential Father\u2019s Day gift by baking a tie cake. After all, who doesn\u2019t like something homemade?<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Jersey Journal (Jersey City, New Jersey), 14 June 1995, page 22<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So, dads, what was your favorite gift? I hope that you receive the gift you really want this Sunday even if it is a tie.<\/p>\n

Happy Father\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n

* \u201cFather\u2019s Day (United States),\u201d Wikipedia (https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Father%27s_Day_(United_States)<\/a>: accessed 10 June 2020.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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