Father S Day

The value of a good father To the editor: Reflecting on Father's Day, I felt a burden to write this. First, I would like to say to all of you single moms out there, I know how hard your job is and God bless you for raising your children up and doing the best you can. I don't write this without knowing what I am talking about. When I was 8 years old in 1966, my dad died and my mom never remarried, so I grew up without a father. But let me say my mom did a great job raising her children without a husband.

pepperb@herald-mail.com Some might think that if dads had their way on Father's Day, they'd spend it living the high life, but some area dads debunk that theory, saying a day with the family beats just about anything. Robert Cobb, 42, of Hagerstown, topped off his Father's Day at Hagerstown City Park sitting at a picnic table with his wife and two of his three children, two pizzas and an order of hot wings. He said his ideal Father's Day would be "spending quality, precious time with the ones you love.

by MIKE CRUPI / staff photographer enlargement SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. - Given his son's interest in cycling, Martinsburg, W.Va., resident David Blythe said he immediately thought about making the annual Bike Virginia cycling tour a father-son venture when he heard it might pass through Berkeley County. --cont from news -- "About every five years I do something crazy, so I talked him into coming up to do this with me," said Blythe, 60, who as director of the Martinsburg-Berkeley County Convention and Visitors Bureau had a hand in attracting the event to the county.

keller@herald-mail.com I'm sure that most people my age - a tender, young 33 - have had experiences that have changed their outlook on life and caused them to look at things from a new persepctive. Certainly marriage and kids will do that. Advancement in a career or pursuing another will, too. Special days take on new meaning as well. There's probably not many who look forward to birthdays like before. And remember how you looked at Christmas as a child? I'm sure most of you see it in a new light now. So it is with Father's Day for me this year.

By KERRY LYNN FRALEY Staff Writer When his wife asked him on Saturday what he wanted for Father's Day, Tim Wilson joked that a healthy baby would make the perfect gift. With Karen Wilson's due date still four days off, the Hagerstown couple had a good laugh at the idea. But they weren't laughing at about 8 a.m. Sunday morning, when Karen went into active labor and it started to look like Wilson would get his flippant wish. Considering how quickly their first two children came - each labor lasted about two hours - Wilson wasted no time in getting his wife up to Waynesboro, Pa., Hospital, where he helped deliver his second son, Matthew Joseph Wilson, born at 11:54 a.m. It was "pretty appropriate" that the baby came on Father's Day, said Wilson, 30, one of several Tri-State fathers blessed with Sunday arrivals.

Today, I pay tribute to all the dads out there. And, I tip my hats to granddads as well. I originally wrote this column a few years ago as a deep-felt tribute to my own dad and mom when Dad turned 60. (Don't worry, I won't say how many years ago.) The words in this column take on special meaning now that I am a dad. My lovely wife, Karin, and I were blessed 17 months ago with a baby girl (now a wild toddler with a mind of her own whose favorite word - no fooling - is "go. ")

koelble@herald-mail.com I know I'm coming up on another year when it is U.S. Open week. With Thursday's first-round play, another candle gets torched on the imaginary birthday cake. I often wondered if my parents intended me to be a Father's Day kid, but that I screwed it up a few days early. Maybe I was earmarked for the first day of summer, so I could celebrate from dawn to dusk. When I did come about 52 years ago Thursday, it was the beginning day for my dad as sports editor of the Canton (Ohio)

June 11: Funkstown Lions Club meets at the Plaza Hotel, 6:30 p.m. June 12: Bingo at Funkstown Fire Hall, 6:55 p.m. Sunday: Father's Day June 19: Bingo at Funkstown Fire Hall, 6:55 p.m. June 25: Funkstown Lions Club meets at the Plaza Hotel, 6:30 p.m. June 26: Bingo at Funkstown Fire Hall, 6:55 p.m. July 7: Funkstown Fire Company membership meeting at 7 p.m. July 10: Bingo at Funkstown Fire...

LEITERSBURG -- Dads, granddads and future dads came together Saturday at Brook Lane for an ice cream and croquet social as a part of Father's Day weekend. The third annual Scoops & Wickets fundraiser offered silent and live auctions, a moon bounce, ring toss and tic-tac-toe games, croquet, boccie, face painting and homemade ice cream. "We had a lot of families today. It's good for the families," said Kay Hoffman, director of development at Brook Lane. "I think a lot of people come because it's Father's Day weekend, and it gives generations a chance to be with each other and have a good time together.