Dad Adopts Daughter + Father-Son Duo Publishes Book: MD Father's Day Photos

MARYLAND — Happy Father's Day, Maryland! Patch wants to celebrate some of the dads in our great state.

Dan Collins shared this photo of him and his dad, Walter Paul Collins. The father-son duo worked together in 2005 to edit and publish a book of Walter's poetry, called "Psalm Of A City, Saratoga And Other Poems." The picture below shows the two holding the book in Baltimore County.

Many of the poems were inspired by Dan's mom and Walter's wife, Doris. Dan said the poetry drew reviews from an editor at The Philadelphia Inquirer and a professor at Loyola College, which is now called Loyola University Maryland.

Doris passed away in 2001 from Alzheimer’s Disease. Walter died in 2016.

Brian Jamison took this selfie with his 6-year-old daughter, Aubrey, at Six Flags America in Upper Marlboro.

Melissa Ann Gibson submitted this shot of her and her father, Danial Heberling.

"This picture is special to me because this was the first time my father, the Marine, was able to see his daughter, the swabby (as he calls navy personnel), in action," Melissa told Patch in an email. "He came to pin my third class pin on me at my first duty station. A very special memory."

Jade Jordan sent us this picture of her and her dad, John. They moved to Columbia in 1976. John was a fixture at Columbo's Pizza in the Joseph Square Village Center for many years. He battled cancer for two years and passed in 2018.

"This was one of his favorite pictures of he and I," Jade said. "Happy Heavenly Father's Day, Dad."

Jo Eberly snapped this photo of her husband, Scott Knodle, and their daughter, Toni Eberly Knodle.

The father and daughter are holding shirts commemorating when Scott officially adopted Toni. That adoption came the day before Toni's 13th birthday.

"It was 9 years in the making for this adoption to happen and a very exciting day for all of us," Jo said. "He really stepped up to the plate and made a young [girl's] dreams come true!"

That's all for this week's round-up. Keep an eye out for next week's gallery.

To participate, email your best picture to maryland@patch.com with the subject line "Photo Of The Week." Participants must also include this statement in their email:

"I, [insert name], took this picture, and I give Patch permission to publish it."

Don't forget to mention where you snapped the photo and tell us what's in the picture.

Please only submit photos that you took personally. Horizontal pictures are preferred.

Photos are due every Thursday at noon. We will post a story with a few of our favorites each week. The next gallery will go out on Monday, June 27.

Good luck!

Related: Share Your Father's Day Photos With Patch For Chance To Be Featured