History
Marian McQuade of Oak Hill, West Virginia, has been recognized nationally by the
United States Senate – in particular by Senators Jennings Randolph; and Robert
Byrd – and by President Jimmy Carter, as the founder of National Grandparents
Day. McQuade made it her goal to educate the youth in the community about
the important contributions seniors have made throughout history. She also
urged the youth to "adopt" a grandparent, not just for one day a year, but
rather for a lifetime.
In 1973, Senator Jennings Randolph (D-WV) introduced a resolution to the Senate
to make Grandparents Day a national holiday. West Virginia's Governor Arch
Moore had proclaimed an annual Grandparents Day for the state, at the urging
of Marian McQuade. When Senator Randolph's resolution in the U.S. Senate
died in committee, Marian McQuade organized supporters and began contacting
governors, senators, and congressmen in all fifty states. She urged each state to
proclaim their own Grandparents Day. Within three years, she had received
Grandparents Day proclamations from forty-three states. She sent copies
of the proclamations to Senator Randolph.
In February, 1977, Senator Randolph, with the concurrence of many other senators,
introduced a Joint Resolution to the Senate requesting the President to "issue
annually a proclamation designating the first Sunday of September after Labor
Day of each year as 'National Grandparents Day'." Congress passed the
legislation proclaiming the first Sunday after Labor Day as National
Grandparents Day and, on August 3, 1978, then-President Jimmy Carter
signed the proclamation. The statute cites the day's purpose as: "...to honor
grandparents, to give grandparents an opportunity to show love for
their children's children, and to help children become aware
of strength, information, and guidance older people can offer."
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