Blue text around an illustration of a blue snowflake with red circles and a red maple leaf in the center on a white background

The 1979 winter Canada Games were held in Brandon, Manitoba. A multi-sport competition for young amateur athletes held every two years, the games first started in Quebec City in 1967, as part of Canada’s Centennial celebration and is now one of Canada’s largest competitions for sports. The city of Brandon gained a $3 million new sportsplex, complete with hockey arena seating for 400 people, 50 meter six-lane swimming pool, racquetball courts and a speed skating oval. In preparation for the event, the city went through a facelift, with money put in to beautify a number of schools and facilities. More than $1 million was raised by the Friends of the Games. The chosen mascot, Brandy Bison was a nod to the unique area of Manitoba, where large herds of bison live.

White text on a blue background with a gold circle in the center with an American flag on it and an outer gold edge with white lines

The 1907 Jamestown Exposition commemorated the 300^th anniversary of the first Permanent English settlement in America. It was held at Sewell’s Point on Hampton Roads, in Norfolk, Virginia. The Exposition began on April 26, 1907 which marked exactly 300 years after the English colonists made their first landing in Virginia. Upon its closing on November 30, 1907, it was attended by over 1.4 million paid visitors, including President Theodore Roosevelt who opened the Exposition.

The Exposition developers faced many challenges early on in their planning. For starters, the isolated location of Sewell’s Point meant that new roads and rail lines had to be built to reach the site by land. The problems continued as half the site encountered electrical issues on the opening day. In the end, the 1907 Exposition was deemed a financial failure with a loss of over two million dollars.

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The Iowa High School Music Association (IHSMA) held a State Contest in 1941 and this button was given to the participants. The IHSMA was founded in 1920 by Superintendent G. T. Bennett of Rockford, Iowa who suggested a statewide music contest series for high school marching bands, orchestra, and other music ensembles. The first state high school music festival was held in 1926 at the University of Iowa. As the Association grew, the state festival developed into multiple state contests to accommodate all member schools. By 1941, the Association had 641 member schools and it formed an all-Iowa band, orchestra and chorus made up of students from member schools.

Blue text around a blue circle with a red maple leaf over white wavy lines on a white background

1998 was dubbed International Year of the Ocean (YOTO) by the United Nations (UN). The oceans are a dominant aspect of our world and environment so the UN wanted to promote public awareness and understanding of them. Ocean-related headlines had been dominating newspaper headlines such as El Niño, hurricanes, and the rising sea levels. The UN hoped to encourage citizens around the globe to learn more and become interested in oceans as they effect the climate and weather, provide food and oxygen as well as jobs, and are home to such diverse life. Participating countries around the globe had activities and events planned to engage its residents to want to help protect oceans.

Green and pink text on a white upper third of the button over a photograph of three women holding a green dollar sign on a black background

International Women’s Day (IWD) was first celebrated nationally in the U.S. in 1909 and then internationally in 1911 on March 19. Later recorded celebrations have it taking place near the end of February. The official date, March 8, was first celebrated during International Women’s year in 1975 by the United Nations.

The phrase “Pay Equity” pictured on the button refers to the gender wage gap. Historically women have continually made less per hour than men for the same work. This has been addressed over time and the National Committee on Pay Equity (NCPE) formed in 1979 as a result. Also pictured on the button is the Public Service Alliance of Canada (Alliance de la Fonction publique du Canada) logo. This is a union that currently represents federal service workers across Canada.

Black text and an illustration of a person holding a ring on a yellow background

In 1979, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared that year the International Year of the Child. The declaration was intended to bring attention to issues that affect children worldwide, like access to education, food, and healthcare. Over 150 countries participated in promoting the needs of the world's 1.5 billion children. Many created special programs for underprivileged children, held seminars to bring awareness and wrote their own declarations. On January 9th, a benefit concert was held in the United Nations General Assembly Hall in New York. Performers included the Bee Gees, Earth, Wind & Fire, ABBA, and Donna Sommer. The concert was aired as a television special, Music for UNICEF Concert: A Gift of Song.

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On December 6, 1989, fourteen female students at an engineering school in Montreal were murdered by an armed gunman named Marc Lépine. The event became known as both the École Polytechnique massacre and the Montreal massacre. Lépine targeted women. He entered classrooms and separated the students by gender before shooting the female students. After the twenty minute massacre, Lépine shot himself with his final bullet. The fourteen women who lost their lives on that day were Geneviève Bergeron, Hélène Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Maryse Laganière, Maryse Leclair, Anne-Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Michèle Richard, Annie St-Arneault, Annie Turcotte, and Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz. While the futures of these women had been bright, the past of shooter Marc Lépine had been shadowed by abuse, misogyny, and rejection. After applying to and being rejected by the École Polytechnique in 1986 and 1989, Lépine apparently refused to accept that it was due to the fact that he failed to meet the requirements for admission. Instead, he blamed the female students who attended instead of him, specifically, “feminists.” Lépine’s suicide letter was leaked to the press, including the list of women’s names whom Lépine planned to kill for being feminists.

Illustration of the state of Illinois on a green circle with an outer white edge with green text

June is designated the Illinois Rivers Appreciation Month and consists of several river-related events coordinated by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. In 1985, the Iron Ores Marathon was launched by the Chicago River Aquatic Center and Friends of the Chicago River to raise awareness of river ecosystems and the benefits of rivers as natural, recreational, and community assets. The marathon began in Evanston and ended at the Columbus Bridge downtown with a best time of 1:56:50.

Red text and an illustration of a tree, flowers, a fish, a boat, bridge and a mountain on an off-white background

The state of Alaska was admitted into the United States union in 1959 by President Eisenhower. Alaska Day was designated October 18th of that year by Governor William Egan for celebration of the land’s history and has become a yearly event. There is traditionally an Alaska Day Festival during which residents and tourists can enjoy a parade led by the pipe and drum regiment of the Seattle Fire Department, a ball with music by the Fort Wainwright’s 9th Army Band, historical reenactments, panel discussions, and occasional visits by governors and senators.