Father’s Day, now more than 100 years old and 40 years removed from being made a national holiday by President Richard M. Nixon in 1972, seemingly has always been celebrated in a certain fashion.

Stores advertise creature comforts for dad, who is unlikely to buy them for himself, in the weeks before the holiday, but the third Sunday in June generally is reserved for letting fathers do their own thing, be it fishing, reading the newspaper, golfing or just relaxing.

Fifty years ago in 1962 in Butler County was no different, according to Butler Eagle editions that June.

The Hub, formerly at 205 S. Main St., began its Father’s Day promotions on June 1, 1962, sticking sale prices of $1 to $2 on “handsome” gentlemen’s ties and “Paris” belts. The Hub’s customers also could enter dad’s name in a prize drawing. First prize was a suit, shirt, tie and hat ensemble with a total value of more than $50.

By June 11, Montgomery Ward in Butler upped the ante by offering dad “his own personal TV,” a 19-inch Airline set for $129.88. Deal-savvy shoppers also could find Powr-Kraft electric drills for less than $19, Zebco rod-and-reel combinations for under $10 and a 24-inch Garden Mark grill for just $16.

Gaylords in the Greater Butler Mart got in on the act, too, offering customers the chance to “shop in air-conditioned comfort” while browsing $2 bottles of Old Spice cologne and $6.99/dozen Sam Snead golf balls.

At least one person needed more than sales to be impressed, though.

On the Eagle’s editorial page on June 16, 1962, one writer lamented that “Father is no longer the imposing presence he was in the olden days” in a piece titled “Father Has Work and Worry, Not Much Glory.”

“There is a National Hot Dog Day and a National Hot Dog Month but only one day is devoted to fathers. If this is the esteem to which the American head of the house has fallen, let it be recorded here that not all fault is dad’s,” the unnamed columnist wrote.

“The trouble is that Father doesn’t shoot a six-gun, ride a horse, wrangle cows or even hunt bears. In our complex economy, he’s a big shot only at the office, if at all. At home, his only moments of glory are when he succeeds in unstopping the sink or successfully transplants the begonias. (And if he can’t do even these things, he’s a complete washout.)”

Still, fathers probably managed to mark the day just fine.

On June 16, 1962, the Lyndora Volunteer Fire Department had its strawberry festival to benefit the department and on Father’s Day Sunday, the Oneida Valley Volunteer Fire Company held a free community picnic with lunch and children’s games.

If nothing else, many dads could be pleased about the seven-game winning streak the Pittsburgh Pirates carried into the holiday weekend 50 years ago, something no father has seen since 2004, when the Bucs put together a 10-game winning streak.