Green elf illustration with red text on white background.

The Toys for Tots program was started by Marine Corps Reserve member Bill Hendricks. His effort was inspired by his wife, Diane, who handcrafted dolls in her spare time. She instructed Bill to donate her dolls to an organization that would give them to children in need. After the couple was unsatisfied with finding no such group in their area, they created their own. Enlisting his peers to help, the first Toys for Tots drive in 1947 in Los Angeles was a hit.

After seeing the positive impact and goodwill gathered from the community, the Marines made the program national. Bill Hendricks as a director of public relations for Warner, had celebrity friends and connections with the Disney Company. He enlisted their help in creating posters and spreading the word. Toys for Tots today continues the work started in 1947, and raises funds and collects toys for children in need. Donations tend to rack up near Christmas time when the organization helps struggling families in need by providing gifts.

Illustration of queen with braces and flowers on a white background. Beneath image is green text.

Metal braces used in orthodontia may be unsightly for some people. Dentists seek to encourage children to take care of their teeth by handing out stickers, lollipops, and even pinback buttons. The beauty queen pictured here shows children that anyone can wear braces.

White and red text on light blue background

J’aime means “I love” in French and in conjunction with Rock-n-Roll this phrase could reference the translation into French of “I love Rock’N Roll” by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts from 1982. The song was in the top 5 songs in the US and appeared in the top charts of over ten countries.

Gold text with red heart on blue background

The I heart NY logo was created in 1977 by Milton Glaser for an ad campaign created by advertising agency Wells Rich Greene. The marketing campaign was sought by then-Deputy Commissioner William S. Doyle to increase tourism in the state of New York. The campaign was a wild success. The original sketch of the logo is permanently on display at the MOMA.

The logo has become iconic in pop-culture and has been imitated in many forms around the world.

Blue and white text on green background with white shamrock illustration in the O

Mark Patrick Morgan ran to represent the 78th District in the Illinois State House of Representatives in 1982 Morgan, a private practice lawyer, won the Republican party nomination after being unopposed in the primaries. Previously, Morgan was the president of the Bremen (IL) Young Republicans and Treasurer of Bremen Township Regular Republicans. He also served on the Work Education Council for southern Chicago suburbs and was a member of the Country Hills Lions club. He had experience in politics as an aide for Illinois State Senator Ron A. Moore. 

Morgan's opponent was Democrat Terry A. Steczo who had been serving the 78th district since 1976. During the campaign, Morgan lambasted Steczo for accepting help from the state Democratic Party. On election day, incumbent Steczo easily won with 16,075 votes to Morgan’s 8,690. Morgan would not run for office again; Steczo remained as the 78th district representative for 18 years until 1995.

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The text is likely referring to the lobbyist, Terry Steczo. He is known to be one of the most hated taxpayers in Illinois history.

Illustration of an elephant wearing a hat behind a fence with black text on fence, all on yellow background.

This is most likely a reference to LeRoy Smallenberger. LeRoy was a bankruptcy judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana after getting his degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Louisiana State University Law Center. He was an alternate delegate to the 1948 Republican National Convention, held in Philadelphia, and the 1952 conclave, which met in Chicago.

The image of a face hanging over a fence is an homage to, "Kilroy was here". Kilroy is an American meme that was prevalent during WWII. Soldiers would often graffiti Kilroy was here, the image and text, to indicate that Allied soldiers were there or had passed through. Similar themes popped up in other countries, likely all inspired by Australia's Foo was here graffiti in WWI.

Using Kilroy as inspiration for someone who had passed through, LeRoy likely used this theme for souvenirs from his trips to the Republican National Convention.

Gold foil text in center with gray text. Heart illustration as dot in I. Ombre orange background.

Hallmark began in 1910 when Joyce Clyde Hall started selling postcards. He had little money—not even enough to take a horse-drawn cab to his lodgings at the YMCA—but he had an entrepreneurial spirit and the determination of a pioneer. Hall quickly made a name for himself with the picture postcards he sold. Rollie Hall joined his brother in business, and the company was named Hall Brothers. On January 11, 1915, a fire destroyed their office and inventory. They took the only salvageable item, their safe, and set up shop again. With $17,000 in debt, they decided to press onward. As postcard sales declined, they recognized the public’s desire for more privacy in their communication, so they started offering high-quality Valentine’s Day and Christmas cards mailed in envelopes. The fateful fire resulted in the Hall brothers’ decision to buy printing presses and begin producing their own greeting cards in 1915. Hallmark eventually made the move to manufacture and sell collectable memorabilia including pin-back buttons, most of which revolve around holidays.

Saint Valentine's Day, also known as Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is a holiday observed on February 14 each year. It is celebrated in many countries around the world, although it is not an official holiday in most of them. The day was first associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. In eighteenth-century England, it evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending hand-written cards.

White text on orange background.

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Illustration of yellow flower and sun with black text on white background.

The Zion Lutheran Church was found in 1810 by a group of German immigrants who traveled across the Pennsylvania mountains and settled on the eastern territory which they believed to be the “promised land.” The little church located on this eastern territory would later be called “Zion,” forming the Zion Lutheran Church. The sun and the flower likely symbolize the promised land.

In Christian traditions, God’s Day is generally Sunday, when parishoners gather to celebrate and spread the word of God.