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Over the hill is an idiom used to describe someone old, worn out, or past their prime. The term has been in use since the mid-1900's. The phrase is alluding to one life’s as a hill. When a climber has reached the top of the hill, they are at their full prime and at the height of power, attractiveness, and ability. When they begin to descend, their life is progressing into old age. When one is over the hill, they are past their prime. Now, with the progression of time and events, the 30's are seen as the new 20's, and the 40's as the new 30's. The age that marks the top of the hill has shifted and changed with the 30's no longer seen as being ‘over the hill,’ and that age pushed to 50 due to longer life expectancies and more you can accomplish before hitting your prime age.

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Harold Washington was an American politician and the first African American mayor of Chicago, serving from 1983-87. He served as a state legislator and civil rights advocate. During his second term in Congress, the African American community, dissatisfied with incumbent Mayor Jane Byrne, encouraged him to enter. Washington agreed to run if his supports could raise $1 million and register 50,000 new voters. When both these goals were easily surpassed, Washington began his campaign that led to his election on April 12, 1983. Washington went on to forge a citywide coalition to unite the disparate communities around a common goal of inclusion and reform. In the general election, Washington narrowly defeated Bernard Epton in a record voter turnout. Washington was initially unable to implement his program during his first term due to opposition from City Council, but later gained control of the City Council. Among his accomplishments, Washington passed an ethics ordinance giving renters stronger rights, opened up the city’s budget process to public scrutiny, gave collective bargaining rights to city works, barred city departments from cooperating with federal immigration officials, and made Chicago the first “sanctuary city” in the Midwest. He was reelected in 1987 for a second term, but sadly died while in office seven months later.

The blue sunrise pictured on his campaign button served as the logo for Harold Washington’s mayoral campaign. This design helped to inspire the design for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign.

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Reckless Records is a group of three record stores in Chicago, IL. The stores’ offerings range from new & used CDs to games and vinyl and has been a go-to indie spot for CDs, vinyl and DVDs. Originally started in London in 1983, the company opened its first Chicago location in 1989. The company had a short-lived independent music label that produced LPs for Bevis Frond and Oakland guitarist Henry Kaiser. The Broadway location has been used for in-store performances by touring indie-label artists and local bands, and the Wicker Park location inspired the look of the film, High Fidelity.

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Author, designer, cartoonist, and illustrator Sandra Boynton rose to prominence in the literary world in the 1980s when her humorous animal characters and clever text filled picture books and graced greeting cards, mugs, stickers, posters, stationary, and more. At the peak of her career, Boynton had created 150 designs and sold more than 80 million cards a year. When her cards attracted imitators, Boynton began to publish her own illustrated books and produced an array of merchandise including a children’s clothing line.

Boynton’s publications have ranged from toddlers’ board games like Hippos Go Berserk! to adult humor titles like The Compleat Turkey, with cartoons poking fun at life’s difficult people, the so-called “turkeys.” In the 1990s, Boynton started pairing her children’s books with music, releasing popular book-and-CD sets.

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Walt Disney first attempted unsuccessfully to adapt Beauty and the Beast into an animated film during the 1930s and 1950s. Following the success of The Little Mermaid (1989), Walt Disney Pictures decided to try again and adapt the fairy tale. The film was directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, with a screenplay by Linda Woolverton story first credited to Roger Allers. Lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken wrote the film's songs. Ashman, who additionally served as the film's executive producer, died of AIDS-related complications six months before the film's release, and the film is thus dedicated to his memory. Beauty and the Beast premiered as an unfinished film at the New York Film Festival on September 29, 1991, followed by its theatrical release as a completed film at the El Capitan Theatre on November 13. The film grossed $425 million at the box office worldwide on a $25 million budget. Beauty and the Beast won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, the first animated film to ever win that category. Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (1991) became the first animated feature to be nominated for a best-picture Oscar at the 64th Academy Awards, where it won the Academy Award for Best Original Score and Best Original Song for its title song and received additional nominations for Best Original Song and Best Sound. In April 1994, Beauty and the Beast became Disney's first animated film to be adapted into a Broadway musical. The success of the film spawned two direct-to-video follow-ups: Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas (1997) and Beauty and the Beast: Belle's Magical World (1998), both of which take place in the timeline of the original. This was followed by a spin-off television series, Sing Me a Story with Belle.

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The world of music would forever change and Michael Jackson would secure his place in history when he released his sixth studio album, Thriller, in 1982. Every single on the album made it to the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 with two songs reaching number one status. Perhaps the most remembered song on the album, Thriller, is known for its music video featuring Michael performing dance moves among a group of zombies.

As of 2017, the album has been certified platinum 33 times, making it the top certified album in the United States. The album has sold over 105 million albums around the globe, making it also one of the best selling records in the world.

Click on https://buttonmuseum.org/buttons/michael-jackson-thriller-alt to see an additional variation of this button also held by the Button Museum.

Red illustrations of Davy Crockett in fur cap holding a gun in front of a camp surrounded by red text; all on yellow background.

“King of the Wild Frontier”, Davy Crockett, was a politician and solider. He grew up in eastern Tennessee during the late 18th century. In the early 19th century, Crockett became a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Tennessee. He lost a re-election in 1835 and moved to Texas – then the Mexican state of Tejas. Crockett fought in the Texas Revolution and was executed at the Battle of the Alamo, although the cause of his death has been challenged. Crockett is remembered in various plays, films, TV shows, and other media, securing his place as an American folk hero.

From 1954 to 1955, Disney released five, one-hour episodes titled Davy Crockett on ABC. Part of the Disneyland series, these episodes featured Davy Crockett and his many adventures. Disney sold various items that related to the miniseries after its high praise and popularity.

S.S. Kresge Company, now known as Kmart, is a large department store headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. The company was founded in 1899 by Sebastian Spering Kresge. During the 1950s, S.S. Kresge Company sold Davy Crockett memorabilia, such as jackets, hats, and gun and holster sets. During movie showings, S.S. Kresge Company would often give away Davy Crockett buttons as well as free prizes of these memorabilia items.

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September 11th, 2001, was a dark day in the United States' history when terrorists hijacked four airplanes. One plane crashed into the Pentagon, another into a field in Pennsylvania after passengers tried to regain control from the hijakers. The final two planes crashed into and caused the World Trade Center to collapse in New York. Over 3,000 people tragically lost their lives, and it represents the biggest attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor. The event lead to the United States getting involved with Iraq and Afghanistan and the wars that followed. Citizens remember the tragedy and vow to never forget 9/11 and the lives that were lost through terrorist efforts.

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The Women's suffrage movement began in the United States in 1848 at the Seneca Falls Convention to discuss the law barring women from voting based on their gender. In 1869, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton formed the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA), which became the foremost organization lobbying for suffrage. The suffrage movement merged with other groups and movements to equalize the rights of all citizens. In 1920, Congress passed the 19th Amendment which stated, "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."

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Christen Carter founded the Busy Beaver Button Co. in 1995, working out of her college apartment. The custom button  company has grown and has produced over 85,000 designs and tens of millions of buttons.The company hopes to help people express their creativity and values industriousness, working collaboratively, and social responsibility. They are committed to green manufacturing, and purchased an abandoned Chicago building to transform it into a green factory. Christen Carter and her brother, Joel Carter, also founded the Busy Beaver Button Museum in 2010, which is the world’s only pinback button museum. A button from every Busy Beaver Button Co. order is also added to the museum.