Black text on aged white background with red and aged white checkered edge.

“It Ain’t Gonna Rain No ‘Mo” is a hit 1923 folksong first recorded by Wendell Hall (1896-1969). Known colloquially as “The Red-Haired Man,” Hall helped bring “hillbilly” tunes onto the music scene, and “It Ain’t Gonna Rain No ‘Mo” is often considered the first hillbilly song. Despite selling more than 2 million copies of one of his records, Hall’s legacy was not everlasting; Hall saw several decades of recording success in the 1920s and 1930s but then faded away into almost obscurity.

In the 1940s, carnivals gave out checkered pin-back buttons as game prizes and souvenirs, many of which had funny phrases like “You’re the One” and “Jeepers Creepers!” and also titles of famous songs of the day, like “I’m No Angel,” sung by Mae West for her movie I’m No Angel (1933). This “It Ain’t Gonna Rain No ‘Mo” button may be a variation of such buttons and would certainly fit the theme of a country, or “hillbilly,” carnival.

Blue tinted head and shoulders portrait of a man in the center with red text on a white background surrounding the photograph

Born in England on December 28, 1763, John Molson moved to Canada as a teenager. He quickly found his place, helping to found what would eventually become Canada’s biggest and oldest brewery. While this accomplishment would be enough by most standards to earn him a beloved spot in history, Molson went on to help fund Canada’s first railroad system and introduced steamship travel to the St. Lawrence River. Through his philanthropy, he was directly responsible for Montreal’s transformation into a cosmopolitan hub of culture; he helped found Canada’s first public theater, the Theatre Royal, and built the popular and successful Mansion House Hotel.

Molson moved on to politics and served in Lower Canada’s House of Assembly before deciding not to run again and instead became the president of the Bank of Montreal and sat as chair of the Montreal General Hospital. Following that, he received a powerful political appointment on the Legislative Council, which served the Governor General.

Come December 28th this button might just inspire you to pour a glass of ice-cold Molson Canadian and raise a toast in John Molson’s honor.

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In 1904, The Louisiana Purchase Exposition commemorated the completion of the sale of land by Napoleon Bonaparte to President Thomas Jefferson in 1804. Lewis and Clark would set off that year on their famous expedition to explore the new acquisition. More commonly referred to as The St. Louis World’s Fair, held in St. Louis, Missouri, the fair was notable for many innovations including popularizing the ice cream cone. There are many remnants of the Fair which can be seen in St. Louis today.

To aid the many visitors who may become lost in the expansive fair and surrounding area, a St. Louis citizen may have worn this button as a prompt to answer questions.
 

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Elvis Presley (1935-1977) was a rock and roll icon and is often attributed with having brought rock music to the white audience of the late 1950s. His career had its ups and downs, notably the down of his movie career, but also the up of his 1968 “comeback” special. His legacy is undeniable.

His home in Memphis, Tennessee, “Graceland,” continues to draw tourists from the world over. Elvis Presley Fan Clubs were created to generate excitement as he began his touring phase. The clubs are still going strong, and the Graceland website encourages joining or starting a club today!

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According to John Pollack, the 1995 O. Henry Pun-Off World Champion, "The most common type of pun is the humorous use of a word in such a way that because of its sound, you can interpret it in more than one way." “Lettuce Marry” is a pun on the phrase, “Let us marry.” Puns and wordplay have a long history of use, notably with Shakespeare in the 18th century (Shakespeare is known to have used over 3,000 puns across all of his plays!). The exact date of the first pun used is lost to time, but scholars think puns can be traced as far back as the 8th century BC.

Punning can be seen throughout the classic epic of Gilgamesh. In Tablets 11 and 12, when Utnapishtim tells the people that they will have a bountiful harvest full of bread and wheat, he is making a cruel pun relating to their fate; in Akkadian, the ancient language in which Gilgamesh was written, the word for “bread” is nearly identical to the word for “darkness,” while the word for “wheat” is nearly identical to the word for “misfortune.”

According to Pollack, puns enable us “to pack more meaning, or more layers of meaning, into fewer words [and] to convey complex ideas.”

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The Iowa Department of Natural Resources was officially formed in 1986 and oversees all of Iowa's natural resources and carries out state and federal laws to protect air, land, and water. They also facilitate education and outreach to Iowans on how they can interact with the local resources.

Crappies are two types of freshwater fishes of the Pomoxis genus. They are a popular food and are one of the most frequently caught panfish, the category of edible fish that do not outgrow the standard size of a frying pan. They are also enjoyed in sport fishing. Crappies are popular among people who fish in Iowa and are a catch suited for anglers of all ages and skill levels.

White text and white and red image of a smiling coffee cup with eyes on a red background

Peace Coffee has roasted coffee beans in Minneapolis, Minnesota since 1996. Its mission is to produce organic, fair-trade coffee and support ethical farming practices while remaining environmentally conscious. As Peace Coffee's success grew, they forged multiple partnerships with large retailers, including Costco, Target, and Whole Foods. People can order a cup of brewed Peace Coffee at cafes in the Minneapolis region and or buy beans online, with drink recipes and brew guides available.

Image of blue, red and white macaroni and cheese box with cigarettes coming out of the box and red text at the top and near the bottom of the button. Background is white with rust stains on the sides and bottom borders. 

Starting in 1994 the INFACT Corporate Accountability organization formed a protest of Kraft Foods, due to its connection with Philip Morris Tobacco Company. The purpose of the boycott was to educate consumers of the way Philip Morris was using advertisements which would appeal to younger people, encouraging them to start smoking, while also selling the popular Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Dinner to families. The boycott was held for nine years; a Harris Interactive poll from 2001 indicated that 16% of respondents to their survey had boycotted the products over the previous year.

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What would Mrs. Grundy say? She would probably say that today’s fashion is far too revealing, popular music and television too suggestive, and modern technology distracting young people from their traditional values. 

Mrs. Grundy originally appeared in 1798 as a character in the play “Speed the Plough” by Thomas Morton. The play is set in a rural English village and is about a family of farmers, the Ashfield’s. Sir Philip Blandford plans to evict them, but it is soon revealed that their son, Henry, is actually the illegitimate son of Sir Philip, resolving the conflict and securing Henry as the rightful heir to Sir Phillip’s estate. Throughout the play, Henry’s mother, Dame Ashfield, grows increasingly concerned with the opinion of their neighbor, Mrs. Grundy, and continuously asks herself and others, “What would Mrs. Grundy say?” Mrs. Grundy herself never actually appears throughout the entirety of the play and only exists in Dame Ashfield’s anxious questioning. Mrs. Grundy becomes an unseen character symbolizing societal pressures and strict traditional values, as well as the role of public opinion is shaping one's behavior. 

Just a few years after the play was first performed, “Mrs. Grundy” was adopted as a term, often used to criticize someone for being excessively prude or moral. By the 20th century, Mrs. Grundy became a political symbol and “grundyism” emerged and is still a relevant term used today, especially in discussions of media censorship. As defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, grundyism is “​​a narrow prudish intolerant conventionality especially as to the proprieties.”