White button with a red cable plug in the shape of a house on the left of the black text. Red text appears below the black text on the bottom of the button.

Sponsored by Canadian electric company Ontario Hydro, EnerMark was launched in 1985 and provided a common identity for all members of Ontario’s electrical industry. Its goal was to promote the efficient use of energy in Ontario and included a loan program for homeowners, a toll-free inquiry line, and information booths at exhibitions around Ontario. Advertising memorabilia like this were likely distributed at these info booths.

Yellow background with large red letter U in quote in the center. Black medium text above the U. Small black text curves around top and bottom of button.

In 1938, The Union Commerce Bank, originally known as the Union Bank of Commerce, was founded in Cleveland, Ohio. Post-World War II, the bank changed its name, added more services, and expanded its reach to serve the newly created suburbs, eventually numbering over 40 branches. In 1949, the bank moved into the Union Trust Building located in downtown Cleveland. The bank endured financial troubles in the 1960s-1970s and ultimately was acquired by a larger Columbus-based company, Huntington Bancshares, in 1983.

White text on a navy blue background

To help finance the costs associated with WWI, the U.S. Treasury instituted four Liberty Loan drives during the war, and a fifth “Victory Loan” in May, 1919, to consolidate the nation’s debt after the armistice was signed. Everyone from Wall Street bankers to Boy Scouts campaigned to sell bonds. Rallies were held featuring Hollywood stars such as Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and Charlie Chaplin.

Purchasing bonds was seen as a display of support for the war, and purchasers were given buttons to wear and window stickers to display to advertise their patriotism. It is estimated that twenty-million individuals purchased liberty bonds.

White text at center over the colors of the German flag as a background.

The phrase “Kiss Me, I’m Irish” has launched thousands of variations, running the gamut of identifiers. The original phrase is thought to come from the idea that the next best thing to kissing the Blarney Stone was kissing someone from the same country as the stone. The Blarney Stone is located at Blarney Castle in Ireland and it is a centuries-long tradition to kiss the stone. Legend has it that kissing the stone will grant one powers of eloquence, persuasion, and luck.

Black button with a black and white portrait of an old bearded man in a yellow circle. Yellow text curves outside the top and bottom of the yellow circle.

Henry George (September 2, 1839 – October 29, 1897) was an American economist best known for his work, Progress and Poverty, published in 1879. George spent his early days working as a typesetter and editor for several newspapers. After failing several attempts in seeking electoral office, George secured a political appointment as state gas meter inspector in 1876. This led to the development of his book Progress and Poverty which explores how poverty increases in proportion to increases in wealth. He posits that wealth earned from increases in land value belong not to land owners but to the American public. In an attempt to regulate this observed wealth disparity, George proposed the abolition of all taxes except for a single tax which would be applied only to unearned increases in the value of land. Progress and Poverty sold millions of copies were worldwide and was translated into many languages.

An illustration of a white duck wearing a rain hat in front of a blue background with two white wavy lines on the bottom half. Yellow text with red drop shadow curved on the top.

Have info on this button? Contact us here.

A young boy wears a red, white, and blue striped long-sleeved shirt holding a small pile of leaves in front of a background of autumn leaves.

Have info on this button? Contact us here.

White button with blue text.

The March of Dimes Foundation has a walkathon event every year with over 1000 communities participating across the United States. The first walkathon took place in 1970 and was the first charitable walking event to take place in the country. March of Dimes is a non-profit organization founded by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938. It was first known as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis which worked to combat polio. The organization grew, after funding the polio vaccine, to include work on preventing birth defects and infant mortality as well as funding research to prevent premature birth. 

White text on a navy blue background

Student Health Projects were alternative learning opportunities for healthcare students to gain medical knowledge and experience outside of the hospital classroom setting. This health initiative was aimed at educating students on the social and economic conditions of disease courses, a non-traditional approach at the time. Conferences were held to provide networking opportunities and further educate on the concepts of student health project possibilities.

Red text on an off-white background.

James H. Sills, Jr. was the first African-American politician to run as Democratic mayor in Wilmington, Delaware. Prior to his campaign, he served in the Delaware House of Representatives from 1984-1992. He also served as the president of the Wilmington NAACP in 1959 and supervised the desegregation of schools in Wilmington in 1978.