Red text around an illustration of an airplane on a white background

Established by Rollin King and Herb Kelleher in 1967, Air Southwest Co. was originally developed to provide affordable commercial air flight service in Texas between the cities of San Antonio, Dallas, and Houston. In 1971, the company officially changed its name to Southwest Airlines, as it is still known today, and successfully began to offer flights between these Texas cities charging $20 round trip and $10 for overnight flights. In 1977, the airline began to expand its range of flights in Texas to cities such as Lubbock, Corpus Christi, and Midland. In 1978, it expanded beyond the state of Texas to service flights to other major cities nationwide such as St. Louis, Kansas City, Detroit, Minneapolis, and Pittsburgh - all at rates 53% lower than what other commercial airlines were offering at that time to the same destinations.

In 1987, Southwest introduced "The Company Club" program, which was based on the total trips flown by a frequent Southwest passenger, regardless of distance, in hopes that it offered seasoned Southwest Airlines travelers a simple way to systematically acquire free roundtrip tickets. Today, Southwest Airlines continues to fly travelers to cities all over the U.S. with a "Rapid Rewards" program which replaced "The Company Club" program in 1996.

White and orange text over an illustration of a bear on a white background

This button features the one of the logos for Travelodge, one of the first budget chain motels in the United States that opened in 1940. Travelodge’s mascot is Sleepy Bear, a half-awake teddy bear wearing a nightcap in a nightshirt. The Sleepy Bear was used in Travelodge’s advertising and merchandise and appeared on their print ads, brochures, postcards, motel signage etc. Any children that stayed at Travelodge were automatically enrolled in the Sleepy Bear Club. The logo changed over the years, from more a more illustrated Sleepy Bear to this silhouetted version most likely from the 1970’s. The Sleepy Bear Club is still exists today under the new name "Sleepy's Adventure Club." 

Black text over a flag on tools on a white background

The Order of United American Mechanics (O.U.A.M.) was founded in Pennsylvania during the 19th century as an anti-Catholic, anti-immigrant American Nativist organization. Only open to white, male citizens, they took stands against immigrants by campaigning against the hiring of cheap foreign labor and patronizing “American” businesses. They used their influence to secure employment for their members and provided them with sick and death benefits.

The emblem on the button was influenced by the Freemasons, incorporating their square inside two compasses and then adding an arm and hammer on an American flag in the middle. The compasses are a symbol of remaining within bounds with all mankind, the arm and hammer a symbol of industry and hard work and the flag a symbol of their patriotism.

Illustration of a green hornet and two people and a car on a blue striped background over black with red and green text

The Green Hornet is a masked vigilante who pretends to be a criminal to thwart lawbreakers. George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, the creative team behind the Lone Ranger, created the Green Hornet for a radio show in 1936. The character and his sidekick, Kato, have since featured in radio dramas, TV serials, comics, movies, and a TV show. The TV series, which first aired in 1966 and ran for one season on ABC starred Van Williams as the Britt Reid, AKA the Green Hornet, and Bruce Lee as Kato. Reid ran a newspaper company by day, and fought crime with Kato in the distinctive “Black Beauty” (a customized 1966 Crown Imperial) by night.

Illustration of a lamp with text on it on a white background with an outer blue edge with white text on it

The Merry Circle was a home demonstration club formed in the 1900s supporting rural farm women by sharing knowledge with them about improving practices and health. These clubs were often supported by the local or state government because they worked with other local clubs and schools to benefit their community. The lamp is used as a common symbol for knowledge and is used to advocate for education, which the home demonstration clubs often brought to rural communities.

Black text around an illustration of a guy in black shorts and white shirt on a blue background

The YMCA is a Christian organization dedicated to empowering young people, building communities, and promoting a healthy mind, spirit, and body. YMCA stands for Young Men’s Christian Association, but its programs have since expanded to people of all ages, religions, and gender. Its most notable services revolve around sports and physical education, but it also offers job training, citizenship activities, and night classes for adults. Since its founding in 1844, the YMCA has slowly grown into one of the nation’s most influential nonprofits. 

The YMCA triangle logo featured here was the official logo from 1917 to 1967. Although occasionally still seen today, the logo was changed to a red and black ‘Y,’ and then changed again in 2010 to its current iteration, a purple and blue ‘Y.’

Black text on an orange background

In 1958, Budget Rent A Car was established by businessman Morris “Morey” Mirkin in Los Angeles, California on the corner of Wilshire and Robertson Boulevards. Mirkin opted to name his company Budget to appeal to the budget-conscious customer. With an initial investment of $10,000, he purchased a fleet of ten cars to rent out. In 1960, Mirkin partnered with distant relative, Jules Lederer, who was the president of a Chicago-based business that manufactured writing instruments. Lederer helped infuse necessary capital into Budget Rent A Car, which led to the rapid growth of the company on a national scale. Soon after, Budget Rent A Car’s headquarters relocated to Chicago and became successful that it was able to branch out to Europe, Africa, and Asia. Today, the company boasts an annual revenue of more than $3 billion and has almost 4,000 locations worldwide.

Black text round an illustration of a wolf in a hat on a light green background

Founded in 1906 by George G. Greenburg and Henry J. Duckgeischel, the Green Duck Company produced metal buttons and other novelty devices that have defined American culture and stories for nearly a century.

This button is from a set, though the number of the complete set is unknown. It features a panting wolf wearing a newsboy cap and reads “I’M A LITTLE WOLF,” while others in the set feature varying characters and the “I’M A LITTLE ___” slogan—i.e., “I’M A LITTLE DEAR,” “I’M A LITTLE GENIUS,” and “I’M A LITTLE NUIANCE.”

Red, blue and gold text on a white background

David C. Cook is a nonprofit Christian publishing organization. Since its founding in 1875, the organization has provided resources such as books, lessons, songs, and other materials to Sunday schools. 

This is one of dozens of buttons advertised on its 1908 Annual Catalog of Sunday School Supplies, under the section ‘Celluloid Glass Buttons.’ These buttons feature Sunday school mottos, class names, and emblems. This section was first introduced the previous year, and the buttons quickly became in high demand. G.AN.G, or the “G. & G. Class,” stands for “Grace and Grit.”

White text on a red heart on a blue background

Community Funds are independent charitable organizations that serve their communities within a geographically defined area. The missions are broad and typically support development projects within an area. In 1929, the stock market crashed which launched the U.S into the Great Depression. This led to private charities, which relied on federal government, to fail. Funds, such as this one created for the year 1932 in that era, demonstrate the communities trust in broader, community wide charities.