Illustrations of white geese heads in clothing underneath red and blue text on yellow background.

Unofficially starting in 1816, The Kentucky State Fair appeared annually to mark a place to bring wares and show off animals in the state. The first officially marked date of the Kentucky State Fair is 1902. It was one of the oldest state fairs in the United States and frequently sees hundreds of thousands of guests every year. Since its official start date, the fair has only been canceled three times, once in 1904 when a lawsuit tied up funds that would have gone to the fair. It was also canceled in 1942 and 1943 due to World War II and many fairgrounds being co-opted for the war effort.

Orange text and logo on white background.

“Guiding on the Move,” was an event to celebrate the 65th anniversary of Girl Guides of Canada. Women and girls of all ranks traveled throughout the country to demonstrate their unity as an organization. There were various events to highlight the aspects of Girl Guides encouraging members to learn and grow. The Girl Guides insignia is prominent on all sashes and badges.

Black text and illustration of cowboy hat on light yellow background.

The hit tv show Dallas premiered in 1978 and featured one of the prominent cliffhangers in all television history. In the season finale, the beloved character J.R. was shot by a mystery character and left audiences in suspense until November 21st, 1980. The audience had to wait through a summer and an actor’s strike before they could find out just who exactly shot J.R.

The season premiere and reveal of the mystery is one of the most-watched events in television history. Around 76% of all Americans with access to a television tuned in for the premiere. Globally, 350 million people watched the big reveal. The question of who shot J.R. became so prominent, that merchandise was made and the phrase is still famous and used today.

Blue text over yellow with blue water, surrounded by light blue and red borders. The background is hologram so it looks shiny at different angles when moved.

Niagara Falls is a natural landscape and tourist destination composed of three waterfalls that lies along the international border of Canada and the U.S.: Horseshoe Falls in Ontario, Canada, Bridal Veil Falls, New York, U.S.A., and American Falls in New York, U.S.A. Niagara Falls has been a popular tourist destination since the mid-1840's. The 1870’s started a movement to clean up and preserve Niagara Falls, which led to Niagara Falls becoming New York’s first state park in 1885.

Photograph of woman in white formal clothes with hat, above and below are white text, all on blue patterned background.

Bereavement can take many forms, one of which is celebrating the life of the deceased. This bereavement artifact celebrates the life of Marie Virginia Noncent (1940-2010). She was a wife of a bishop and a member of the First Haitian Church of God in Trenton, New Jersey. 

The tradition of bereavement wearables dates back to 1498 with Anne of Brittany donning black after the death of Charles VIII of France. Queen Victoria of England ordered all her people to wear black while she wore a bereavement button of carved black jet in honor of her deceased husband King Albert in the early 19th century. In 1861, this act is the first depicted mourning button. These traditions created a trend throughout the British Empire still in use today of honoring loved ones through mourning buttons. Today, these items are typically pinback buttons with a photo of the deceased, their birth and death dates, and often a phrase indicating rest in peace.

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Cumberland Falls is a 68-foot tall waterfall located in Southeastern Kentucky. It has been referred to as Little Niagara, the Niagara of the South, or the Great Falls. It was once inhabited by Native Americans up to the 1700's before being privately owned until 1930. In the late 1920’s, there were talks of creating a hydroelectric power station upstream from the falls, however, this was opposed by the Cumberland Falls Preservation Association who convinced T. Coleman Du Pont to buy the land and stipulate that no hydroelectric power station would be built on it. After his death in 1930, the Du Pont family donated the land to the state and it is now the heart of the Cumberland Falls State Resort Park. It is part of the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves designated Wild River System.

Cumberland Falls State Resort Park is located entirely within the Daniel Boone National Forest and is one of the few places in the Western hemisphere where a moonbow , or lunar rainbow, is regularly visible. Recreational fun around Cumberland Falls includes tennis courts, playgrounds, fire pits, bird watching, gem mining, mountain biking, hiking, fishing, canoeing, white water rafting, horseback rides, a pool, weekly activities like square dancing, archery, arts and crafts, group hikes, and animal encounters. There are other campsites for campers as well as cabins and lodges for guests to stay in the park.

White text on red heart, all on white background.

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White blocks with red letters over red ribbon surround brown teddy bear. Black text on light blue background.

After an incident with President Teddy Roosevelt’s refusal to shoot a bear, Clifford Berryman, a famous political cartoonist for the Washington Star, used it as a metaphor in a political cartoon over Roosevelt’s indecision over a Mississippi boundary dispute. The cartoon became famous and inspired Brooklyn candy store owners Rose and Morris Michtom to make the first stuffed bear toy, which they named after Theodore Roosevelt. Morris Michtom called the toy, “Teddy’s Bear,” with Roosevelt’s permission. In 1903, the Ideal Toy Company was born, making the first line of teddy bears. The original teddy bear was given to Kermit Roosevelt, grandson of Theodore Roosevelt, and his family with the understanding it would later be donated to the Smithsonian. Kermit Roosevelt’s children liked the toy so much, they kept it hidden for several years until later donating to the Smithsonian on January 1964, where it remains to this day.

Black text on yellow background.

The reformed protestant United Church of Christ was born through the union of two other church groups in 1957. Two other local Cleveland, Ohio, churches joined together to form the modern United Church of Christ. These churches were the 23-year-old Evangelical and Reformed Church and the 26-year-old Congregational Christian Church. The union combined both traits from the parent group to form the new United Church of Christs’ identity. The new church allowed freedom within the order compared to the traditional church structure, but incorporated elements of the European Reformation to stay tethered to the past.

White people illustrations over red and blue United States with black text and sponsor bugs on white background.

Hands Across America was a charity event organized by USA for Africa in order to raise money for food banks and homeless shelters in the U.S. The goal of the event was to form a continuous chain of people holding hands across the continental U.S. Participants would donate to reserve a spot in the chain as well as purchase commemorative t-shirts. Hundreds of celebrities participated including Oprah, President Ronald Reagan, Prince, and Jane Fonda.  

The concept for Hands Across America was partly conceived by Ken Kragen, a music manager and producer. Kragen had previously been instrumental in another USA for Africa fundraising event, We Are the World, in which Micheal Jackson and Lionel Richie recorded a song by the same name. Hands Across America would turn out to be far less successful than We Are the World. Its goal of creating a chain of people across the U.S failed as rural areas in the southwest lacked the necessary people. The song, "Hands Across America," would also prove to be unsuccessful as it did not have any big pop stars attached like, "We Are the World." Overall, Hands Across America would raise 15 million dollars, 35 million less than anticipated. This movement was featured in the movie, "Us," by Jordan Peele.