Longstanding tradition of honoring grandparents While there is a
day to honor grandparents set aside by officialdom (the Sunday
after Labor Day) the winter holidays are a good time to honor
them as well, because of the closeness of the family at that
time of year. The idea for Grandparents Day came from a West
Virginia housewife named Marian McQuade. In 1970, McQuade
initiated a campaign to set aside a day to commemorate
grandparents and all they do for their children and
grandchildren. By 1973, the first Grandparents Day was
proclaimed by then West Virginia Governor Arch Moore. The
campaign had also begun to take on a national approach. Senator
Jennings Randolph (D-WV) introduced a resolution in 1973 on the
senate floor. However, the resolution languished there for
several years. Just like she had been for getting Grandparents
Day recognized in West Virginia, McQuade proved instrumental in
doing so on the national level as well. While Randolph's
resolution sat idle in the Senate, McQuade worked to garner med