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.

Red cross out over an illustration of a nuclear cloud with hands underneath and black text on a yellow background

The Nurses Alliance for the Prevention of Nuclear War was an organization that represented nurses and nursing educators who created materials and outreach programming on the health dangers surrounding nuclear missiles and nuclear war in the 1980s. 1982 proved to be a year of particular activity for them as they sponsored an antinuclear drive training course at the Harvard School of Public Health in the spring and held a conference titled “Nuclear War - A Nursing Dilemma” at the Boston College School of Nursing on April 17.

Following this period of activity they issued a Statement of Beliefs and Goals which claimed that their commitment as health professionals was not only to preserve human health but also to protect it for all generations. They saw nuclear war as a great threat to this and mobilized to educate fellow nurses and the public about the dangers. Beyond this they are also noted as sharing a similar commitment to peace as the women who set up peace encampments in England and New York protesting the creation of nuclear missiles in the 1980s.

Illustration of a sun over yellow text on a brown background all on a yellow background

Have info on this button? Contact us here.

White text on an illustration of a wheel

Have info on this button? Contact us here.

White text on a purple outer edge around a black and white photograph of a person's head and shoulders

Multiple sclerosis, MS, is a chronic and often disabling disease of the nervous system. A call for action to read is most likely in reference to the MS Readathon that was established in 1978. This program partners with individuals and schools to inspire kids to read as much as they can in August each year to fundraise for family camps of parents living with MS. Each child or school fundraises through their page and parents, family, or friends can donate to support the child and challenge them with new goals.

Black text and an illustration of a beer bottle with sunglasses on it on a white background

Sol Beer is made by the Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma Brewery based in Monterrey, Mexico. Established in 1899, Sol was originally called El Sol and while the name has changed, the logo has always included an image of the sun. There are currently two types of Sol on the market, the original lager as well as a new product which mixes the beer with tomato, lime, and spice flavors. Today, Sol's brand continues to reflect the beer's ties to the sun through the slogan, "Taste the Sun."

Illlustration of a Schlitz Light beer can

The Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company was based in Milwaukee, WI and their beer was extremely popular from 1900 to 1950. The company was the largest producer of beer in America for most of that time, only beginning to compete with Anheuser-Busch (maker of Budweiser) in the 1950s. Their slogan was, "When you're out of Schlitz, you're out of beer." The brewery was founded in 1849, and later acquired by Joseph Schlitz in 1858. Schlitz was eventually sold to Stroh Brewery Company in 1982 and then Stroh, with the Schlitz brand, was bought by Pabst Brewing Company in 1999. Pabst now produces, "Schlitz Gusto" beer as well as the "Classic 60s Formula." Due to rationing during World War II, Schlitz was only available to soldiers in olive green cans from 1942-1947. Viewers of Laverne & Shirley will remember that the two main characters worked in Milwaukee, WI at "Shotz Brewery," which was a fictional version of Schlitz. Schlitz is also know as the first brewery to introduce 24oz "tall boys" and the first "pop top" cans.