Each year we celebrate Father’s Day on the third Sunday in June. This year it was on June 21. A national day to honor fathers began in West Virginia in 1908. A mine disaster took several lives. To honor their memories, the first Father’s Day was celebrated.

For 64 years, the day was not recognized nationally, but in 1972 President Richard Nixon signed a law that established the third Sunday in June, as a national holiday to honor fathers.

The one thing that we all have in common is we each have a father and mother. That is just the way it works. Beyond that point, fathers and mothers play different roles in our lives. Some do not accept their titles and just want to walk away. For those children growing up, life can be challenging. Today Foster Parents are needed more than ever. Grandparents have taken on the role of parenting later in life. For each child that has never known their biological parents it is something they must accept.

But the tradition of Father’s Day is to remember and honor the male parent in our life who accepted their responsibility to be a good parent. We hope they are around for important milestones in life and be someone that children can look up to. All of that is a pretty big order for anyone to accomplish. If you do your best, you will in all likelihood make a few mistakes along the way, you hope your kids will accept you are not flawless, just human.

Back in the 1950s and 60s the image of fathers was portrayed for us on television. The shows of the day made the role of being a father almost perfect in appearance and having the answers to what seemed to be the day’s main questions.

Ask any Boomer who was their favorite television dad, and they will likely answer, Hugh Beaumont, in Leave it to Beaver. Ozzy Nelson in the Nelson Family. Perhaps they will answer Father Knows Best, Robert Young. And always a favorite and still seen on television today was Andy Griffith in Mayberry. Each of these men portrayed what we hoped fathers would be when it came to having a role model.

Hugh Beaumont known as Ward Cleaver was a professional father who wore a suit and tie in most episodes. He used common sense to try and guide Beaver through the days of learning how life worked. He gave Walley advice as he transitioned from a kid into a young adult. Everything from a story book answer about girls to understanding how adults view complex issues in the world. Every now and then Ward would think he had the correct answer for the boys only to find out he had misjudged them and not given them enough credit.

Ozzy Nelson gave the impression he was very laid back, trying to understand a changing world while giving advice to his kids. His wife Harriet often seemed to be the cornerstone of the family. With her easy demeanor she often managed to find answers which she whispered to Ozzy letting him believe he came up with the correct solution.

The boys with their music talent were a key part of the show. In real life Ozzie was anything but what he portrayed on the series. He was reported to be controlling and made things difficult for the members of his family and staff. But for millions of the viewers he was the ideal dad, who was loved by millions looking into a black and white picture tube.

Perhaps the show known as, Father Knows Best with Robert Young was titled to show the audience dad had the answers, but his wife Betty often was the common sense behind his decision. The show had three kids who relied on Young to give them guidance in growing up. Betty was the girl coming of age, Bud was turning from bikes and toys to girls, and Kathy the youngest daughter was Tom boyish and precocious. The television family seemed idyllic, but behind the image Robert Young fought with depression and drinking, unlike his stable image in the show.

Perhaps the best image of father was Andy Griffith, star of Mayberry. For the time it was unusual that it was a family show with Andy being Opie’s only parent. In the first episodes you learn the Character of Andy had lost his wife. The show after that dealt with him often trying to give guidance to his son. It was not unusual for Andy to react to something he had gotten wrong in judging Opie, and later having to “eat crow”, his words when he finds the correct answer to the situation.

What made the television dads so popular with audiences was they communicated with their kids. Shows told stories of parents sometimes too quick to misjudge a situation, and later having to explain to their kids why they were wrong. Real lessons that all of us sometimes wished were true. Parents sometimes get it wrong, just like on television, but sometimes they never realize they were mistaken. One thing they did on those shows, they talked with their kids. It may have been scripted, yet it showed that it could help in any family. Whether in the 1950s or 2026 talking with your kids is always a good thing.

Today the chiseled images on Fathers Mountain have faded with each passing Father’s Day. Ask kids today who should be next on the mountain, Homer Simpson. It sometimes seems to be just another day on the calendar. You may give your father a call or stop by. But I’ll bet what he would really like is just to sit and talk about the Mountaineers baseball team or the New York Nicks. Or maybe how your life at work is going. Whatever you decide, a conversation with your parents is always a good thing, as I see it Through the Lens.