Red and green text and a red illustration of Santa's head on a white background

The tradition of Santa Claus appearing in public places is closely tied to New York City, where Santa first began appearing in many major department stores as early as 1891. By the turn of the century, the department store Santa had become an institution. This button was presumably gifted to guests who visited Santa Claus at the world-renowned Waldorf-Astoria. 

Since its 1931 opening in Manhattan, the Waldorf-Astoria has served members of royalty, celebrities, and presidents. In addition to being lauded as one of the world's largest Art Deco buildings, the hotel was once considered the tallest. The Waldorf-Astoria is still synonymous with luxury today.

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The National High School Orchestra was an ensemble of the best high school orchestra musicians in the United States of America in the 1930s. Drawing inspiration from Indiana’s first all-state orchestra in the U.S. in 1922, music publisher Clarence C. Birchard recruited music educator Joseph E. Maddy to gather and lead the first ever all-American orchestra. They intended to gather the best high school musicians in the country for an ensemble performance at the 1926 Music Supervisors’ National Conference in Detroit, Michigan.

Student musicians were recruited by Maddy sending out letters to music educators all over the country asking for recommendations. The initial return was low until it was announced that the music director for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Ossip Gabrilowitsch, would conduct the ensemble. Since they didn’t have the ability to hear any of the applicants perform, they selected the 232 musicians from 25 states based on a questionnaire. 

The students convened in Detroit on April 11, 1926. They had only six days to prepare for their performance on April 16th. The first rehearsal of the NHSO was not attended by its conductor. Gabrilowitsch was apprehensive that amateurs could perform up to his standards so he sent an assistant to view the rehearsal and report back the results. If it was a poor showing, Gabrilowitsch planned to make an excuse to get out of the event. His assistant did not stay for the entire rehearsal before running back to Gabrilowitsch declaring the NHSO to be “a modern miracle!” Gabrilowitsch conducted the final performance, which was broadcast on local radio and declared a major success.

The NHSO met six more times in Dallas 1927, Chicago 1928 and 1933, and St. Louis 1938. The 1930 NHSO featured two groups: one in Chicago and another on a tour of the east coast. Little is known why the ensemble discontinued, though it is speculated that the economic depression played a role. 

The NHSO is credited with demonstrating the importance of music education to school administrators and the public. The NHSO was also a major influence in the creation of Interlochen Center for the Arts.

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Blue button with an image of the Pink Panther's head. The text on the button is white.

Safeco, a Seattle based insurance company, began using the Pink Panther as its advertising mascot in 1978. The character appeared on various print and television advertisements and promotional materials for the company throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Safeco was founded in 1923 under the name General Insurance Co. of Seattle, but changed its name to the Selective Auto and Fire Insurance Co. of America, or Safeco, in 1968.

The Pink Panther was a character that first appeared in the 1964 film The Pink Panther. He has featured in ten films, four television series, a video game, and was used as an advertising mascot for a variety of other companies.

Orange background with two lines of yellow text and two lines of orange text on yellow accordian-style squares.

​Cinerama Holiday was a 1955 travel documentary, or travelogue, following an American couple vacationing in Europe and a European couple in America. It was filmed using Cinerama technology, developed by Fred Waller, in which three 35mm cameras were projected onto a large, curved screen, providing depth to a film. Cinerama Holiday featured point-of-view scenes in which the three dimensional aspect of the technology could be fully appreciated. This is a trailer for the film that showcases the technology https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWeZ0qYGVP4 

Dark blue text over a red cross on a white background

In 1881, the American Red Cross was founded by Clara Barton and a group of her acquaintances in Washington, D.C.. It is dedicated to helping people in need throughout the United States and, in association with other Red Cross networks, throughout the world. The organization accepts contributions of time, blood, and money to support lifesaving services and programs.

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White text and an illustration of two eyes on a black background

In March 1987, the city of Seattle began the ambitious project of creating a 1.3 mile-long pair of tunnels for buses that would run through the downtown area of the city. The project took a little over three years and cost $469 million dollars to finish. The Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnels (DSTT) addressed a long-standing issue of traffic congestion in the city. Today, they are primarily used by the Link light rail, the city’s commuter trains. This button is promoting this project, with the phrase “I dig the tunnel” and a pair of eyes that represent the tunnels. Below this text is the old King County Metro logo, which was replaced in 2007 with an original graphic of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

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