--- title: National Grandparents Day: Why It Was Needed description: Grandparents Day is celebrated in the U.S. on Sept. 13 this year canonical: https://time.com/4020314/grandparents-day-history/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-11T17:00:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:42:23.427Z article:section: History og:title: National Grandparents Day: Why It Was Needed og:description: Grandparents Day is celebrated in the U.S. on Sept. 13 this year og:url: https://time.com/4020314/grandparents-day-history/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltab91841af7636732/698862063c16391a5e4598cf/1101700803_400.jpg?branch=production&width=400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 400 og:image:height: 225 og:image:alt: Aug. 3, 1970 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: National Grandparents Day: Why It Was Needed twitter:description: Grandparents Day is celebrated in the U.S. on Sept. 13 this year twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltab91841af7636732/698862063c16391a5e4598cf/1101700803_400.jpg?branch=production&width=400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How Woodstock Led to National Grandparents Day > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription.  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Sep 11, 2015 5:00 PM UTC  The Aug. 3, 1970, cover of TIME The Aug. 3, 1970, cover of TIME Cover Credit: PETE TURNER  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Sep 11, 2015 5:00 PM UTC Grandparents are (almost) as old as humanity, but Grandparents Day in the United States is less than four decades old. And while the name evokes warm-and-fuzzy celebration of family, the tradition was established to combat a decidedly modern phenomenon. It was Sept. 6, 1979, that President Jimmy Carter issued an [official proclamation](http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=32826) designating the first Sunday after Labor Day as National Grandparents Day, in the hope that society could learn from “grandparents whose values transcend passing fads and pressures, and who possess the wisdom of distilled pain and joy” and because “our senior generation also provides our society a link to our national heritage and traditions.” The proclamation followed on the heels of two decades of advocacy. The holiday’s official website [traces its history](http://grandparentsday.org/about/) to two people who had similar ideas around the same time: Jacob Reingold and Marian McQuade. Reingold attended the first White House Conference on Aging in 1961 and shortly after instituted a Grandparents Day at the Hebrew Home at Riverdale in New York City, which soon led to a borough-wide observance. McQuade was based in West Virginia and led the effort to have that state institute a Grandparents Day in the early 1970s. It was not a coincidence that two people in different parts of the country felt the same need to recognize grandparents. The culture of the 1960s was largely driven by younger people, and older generations, who were living longer than ever, were increasingly seen as out of touch and of diminished value. A 1970 TIME cover story about growing old in America summed up the feeling with its ominous cover line, “The Unwanted Generation.” Here’s an excerpt from the story, which was titled “The Old in the Country of the Young”: --- > “” --- **_Read the 1970 cover story, here in the TIME Vault:_** [The Old in the Country of the Young](http://time.com/vault/issue/1970-08-03/page/51/) ### The Fun of Being a Grandson, 1955  Caption from LIFE. On the steps of the porch, dislodging a pair of glasses ends granddad's reading period. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. In a shop, choice between glove or ball. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. On a walk, an impatient tug toward a treat. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. At the ice cream stand, something for both of them. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Six-year-old Billy Conner takes a wobbly first ride on a big bicycle as his grandfather gives him a steadying hand on the back of his seat. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Six-year-old Billy Conner cries as he hugs his grandfather William Conner, who pats his shoulder reassuringly in the backyard at home. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. An uneasy approach to the operation. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Trophy on a string. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. One puff spoils a pleasant illusion: A big act with a prop. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. After an experimental puff, a disenchantment with an adult pleasure. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty  Billy Conner and his grandfather William climbing a tree. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. An early-morning start on a catfish expedition in a car named Old Dilsie. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Billy Conner and his grandfather William go fishing. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Billy Conner watches his grandfather William with a puppy. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Billy Conner talks to his grandfather William on the train tracks. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. One hand free, waving at an engineer friend, the other hand holding tight. 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