U.S. President Woodrow Wilson first proclaimed an Armistice Day (later to be called Veterans Day) for November 11, 1919.
In 1953, an Emporia, Kansas shoe store owner named Alfred King had the idea to expand Armistice Day to celebrate all veterans
He began a campaign to turn Armistice Day into "All" Veterans Day, to honor veterans. With the help of
then U.S. Rep. Ed Rees, also from Emporia, a bill for the holiday was pushed through Congress.
Although originally scheduled for celebration on November 11 of every year, starting in 1971 in accordance with the Uniform Monday Holiday
Act, Veterans Day was moved to the fourth Monday of October. In 1978 it was moved back to its original celebration on November 11.
Since this change, there has been a trend against being closed on the holiday. It began with businesses (excluding banks) and in recent
years some schools and local governments have also chosen to remain open.
*** Holiday information courtesy of Wikipedia ***
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