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| Text on Button | VERO BEACH DAIRY SPARKIE CLUB |
| Image Description | Red illustration of the character Sparkie surrounded by red text on a white background |
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ST. LOUIS BUTTON CO MFRS., ST. LOUIS, MO |
| Curl Text | © ARTHUR-SAMPSON ENTERPRISES, INC. |
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| Additional Information | In 1914, Waldo E. Sexton was sent to the area now known as Vero Beach, Florida on a work trip. He fell in love with the scenery and bought several acres of land. He would go on to open several successful businesses, plant 10,000 citrus trees, and start a ranch and dairy farm. He also convinced other prominent businessmen to buy land in the region. Over his lifetime he received many awards for his work in cultivating agriculture and tourism in the area. Sexton Plaza is named after him for this reason. His great-grandkids still own the land his homestead was on, but it is used as an event space. The character on the button is a puppet named Sparkie, from the children's radio show Big Jon and Sparkie. The radio show ran from 1950-1958 and centered around Sparkie, an "elf from the land of make-believe" who acts just like a real boy. The Sparkie Club was a sponsorship and merchandising program related to the show. It involved companies paying for special promotions relating to the show so fans could mail in proof of purchase (for example, ten milk bottle caps or milk carton lids) to get a specifically branded Sparkie Club Button. |
| Sources |
Cooper, P. J. (2014). Waldo Timeline Complete. Waldo Sexton 1885-1967. https://www.verobeachdriftwood.com/images/Waldo%20Sexton%20Timeline.pdf Indian River Magazine. Celebrate the spirit of Waldo Sexton this weekend at his original homestead. Indian River Magazine. https://indianrivermagazine.com/celebrate-the-spirit-of-waldo-sexton-this-weekend-at-his-original-homestead “Big John and Sparky (Big Jon and Sparkie): No School Today | Old Time Radio.” Www.otrcat.com, www.otrcat.com/p/big-john-and-sparky. Sponsor Magazine. (1952, August 25). How to get the most out of a kid show. Sponsor, 32-35, 83-85. https://archive.org/details/sponsormagazine-1952-08/Sponsor-1952-08-2/ |
| Catalog ID | CL0689 |