White text outlined in black on a colorful background

The Circle Jerks were a hardcore punk rock band from Los Angeles, CA. They were formed in 1979 by Black Flag singer Keith Morris and Red Kross guitarist Greg Hetson. The Circle Jerks released their first album, Group Sex, in 1980 on Frontier Records and then went on to record five more studio albums. The band took time off from recording and touring twice during the 1990s and they are currently on hiatus due to a dispute between band members.

Color photograph of Billy Idol with white text

Billy Idol is the stage name of English musician, songwriter, and actor William Michael Albert Broad (born November 30, 1955). Billy Idol first rose to fame in the 1970s as the lead singer of punk rock band Generation X. Part of the “Second British Invasion" of music acts from the United Kingdom, Idol achieved worldwide commercial success after the release of his first solo album Billy Idol in 1982. Billy Idol was an MTV staple in the 1980s, and music videos for Idol’s hit songs, including “White Wedding”, “Rebel Yell”, and “Dancing with Myself”, aired frequently throughout the decade.

Red and blue text with red and blue illustrations of a building and anthropomorphized tools on a white background

Benjamin Harris Co. Inc. was a button manufacturing company that originated in Queens, New York, and later moved to Long Island City. In 1971, Benjamin Harris Co. was mentioned in a New York Times article about an increasing trend in smiley face buttons. Benjamin Harris Co. made roughly $5 million in smiley face button sales during the 1970s. Smiley face buttons were gifts in dentist offices and served as peace symbols in psychedelic shops. People wore smiley face buttons to remind themselves to smile, make other people feel good, or simply because everyone else was wearing them. A 2023 auction sold a rare Benjamin Harris Co. promotional button for the 1960 United States presidential election for $623. Within the last two decades, there was only one other sale of the 1960 election button, making it a “rare and interesting piece of American campaign history.”

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The Button was a bar located in Fort Lauderdale with a second location in Hallansdale, Florida.  The owner, Greg Newell, was also known as "The Father of Spring Break."  The bar was open from the 1960s to 1980s.  Newell promoted the bar by hosting events such as wet T-shirt contests and beer bashes.  Newell passed away in 2003.

Illustration of two characters on a football field one kicking the other over a purple banner with white text and yellow text at the top on a white background

The Eisenhower Senior High School was one of two senior high schools in Hopkins, Minnesota, from 1970-1982. The Eisenhower Warriors played the Spartans in the 1970 Homecoming game during which the catch phrase “Spank the Spartans” was used to energize the Warriors. This illustration utilizes the gold and purple colors of the school while depicting a Warrior beating a Spartan on the football field.

Pink, blue and white illustration of Papa Smurf and Smurfette on ice skates on blue ice with a white background and white text outlined in black

In the early 1980s, the Smurfs were featured as part of the the Ice Capades, a popular traveling ice show. The Smurfs began as a Belgian comic created by the artist Peyo and expanded over time into advertising, toys, television, and film. The cartoon debuted on American television in 1981 and quickly gained popularity around the country.

The Ice Capades originated in Pennsylvania in 1940. Characters were played by a number of professional figure skaters and former Olympians. As professional skating became more popular, athletes began to gravitate toward careers as professional skaters instead of performers. This led to the ice show’s eventual decline in popularity in the late 1980s, and the last show was performed in the mid 1990s.

Sources:
Planetary Success. (n.d.) History. Smurfs. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20111013103939/http://www.smurf.com/en/history/

What's on the Smurf tonight? (n.d.) History. Smurfs. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20111013103939/http://www.smurf.com/en/history/

Curtis, B. (2005 March). Ice Capades: Requiem for the ice carnival. Slate. Retrieved from http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/the_middlebrow/2005/03/the_ice_capades.html

Illustration of a brown animal wearing a yellow top with green and white trim on a white background with green and white text

The first Muskoka Winter Carnival was held in 1971 and was designed to grow tourism during the winter months in Ontario, Canada. It was a week-long festival with beer-related events and winter recreational activities within the towns of Gravenhurst and Huntsville. The mascot is an otter named Skokie and his name was chosen based on an elementary school contest. The carnival ran every year until the 1990s and then was revived again in 2008. 

Illustration of Santa's head on a green background on a white background with black text

Saint Nicholas was a monk who was born in the 3rd century in modern-day Turkey. He was said to have given away all his inherited wealth to the poor and sick as he traveled. Over the years he became the patron saint of children, and was celebrated on the anniversary of his death, December 6. The name Santa Claus evolved out of the Dutch nickname for Saint Nicholas, “Sinter Klass.” Short stories and poems in the 1800s began to popularize his magical image of how we picture him today.

The first known usage of the greeting “Merry Christmas” dates back to a letter written in the 1500s from a bishop to England’s Chief Minister. However, the phrase gained popularity in 1843 with the publication of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol in which Ebenezer Scrooge’s nephew wishes him  “A Merry Christmas, uncle!” Also, it was around this same time that Christmas cards began to be sold in London with the now popular greeting, “Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You.”

Green text over an illustration of a child in pink with yellow hair on a green background looking at a yellow star

For centuries, stars have been used as symbols and have different meanings in different cultures. They appear in and are related to the ways of art, religion, science, spirituality, and other aspects of human existence and experience. In Christianity, the five-pointed star can serve as a reminder of the Five Holy Wounds Jesus received while on the cross. It can also be associated with the birth of Jesus Christ. Because this button features a star beside the text of “Merry Christmas,” this is likely a reference to the Christmas star, which represents the star of Bethlehem. According to the Book of Matthew, the star appeared in the eastern night sky when Jesus was born and guided the Magi to his location, where they presented him with gifts. It is now Christian tradition to commemorate that biblical telling during the Christmas season through an exhibition known as the nativity scene.