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The game of marbles can be traced back to ancient times. Marbles made from many materials including clay, stone, porcelain, wood, metal, and glass have been found in Native American burial mounds, European caves, and in ancient Chinese sites. In more modern history, machine made marbles began being produced in 1901 in Ohio. By the 1920s, marbles had become so popular that “marbles slang” was popular amongst the “mibsters” (Marble shooters). In 1922, the first U.S. National Marbles Tournament was held. As of 2024, the tournament still takes place each year in Wildwood, NJ. Since 1922, children between the ages of seven to fourteen are able to compete for the championship.

In 1925, the Philadelphia Bulletin Newspaper hosted the marble champions for a special train ride from Philadelphia to Valley Forge, then to Atlantic City. There, the marble champions met the mayor, participated in a parade, and celebrated! It seems the Philadelphia Bulletin continued the tradition as this button is dated 1928.

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Oscar Mayer’s Smokie Links were created in 1949 and discontinued in 2008. According to an ad at the time, these links were "good for just heating and eating at picnics or any meal at all!" Smokie Links were also sold at Wrigley Field during their circulation. While Oscar Mayer no longer makes the Smokie Links, they do make Smokies, which are a slightly larger sausage. A rival company took over production of Smokie Links at Wrigley Field in 2013.

The character on the button is a puppet named Sparkie, from the children's radio show Big Jon and Sparkie. The radio show ran from 1950-1958 and centered around Sparkie, an "elf from the land of make-believe" who acts just like a real boy.

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The Civilian Maimed and Limbless Association was an organization aimed at providing opportunities for the disabled. It was formed in Australia in 1949. Members began a workshop in which they were able to apply a trade in order to learn new skills and obtain wages. The group also conducted fund-raising activities and managed a physical headquarters at English Street in Camperdown, according to a 1955 article. 

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Stroehmann’s Bread is a product of Stroehmann Bakeries.  The business, created by Fred G. Stroehmann, began as a store in Ohio in 1892, and by 1911 Stroehmann opened a baking plant to begin offering baked goods as part of the services. Other locations soon opened in West Virginia. Three bakeries were sold in 1922, but Stroehmann’s sons opened other bakeries in Pennsylvania. In 1927 the company created a new offering: sliced white bread. 

The Stroehmann family’s German roots are demonstrated in commercials from the 1960s, where an animated “Grandpa Stroehmann” speaks about his bread in German-accented English with a few words peppered in. Today the company is owned by Bimbo Bakeries USA. 

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The Kindergarten Union of New South Wales was first opened in 1895 as a preschool specifically for disadvantaged children. When it was formed, there were very few early childhood education programs in Australia. In 2023, this preschool still exists and has expanded throughout Australia under the name KU, which it began using in 1991. It is still a large public preschool program aimed at inclusion for all learners, and influenced by many different educational approaches in order to fulfill the goal of educating the whole child. 

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Zonite Products Corporation was a manufacturer of hygienic and antiseptic products, including Zonite, Forhan’s Toothpaste, and Larvex. Chartered in 1922, the company manufactured Zonite for over thirty years before changing its name to the Chemway Corporation in 1956. The original Zonite product, developed during World War I, was marketed as a mouthwash, first aid ointment, deodorant, and more. As of 2023, the Mary Couts Burnett Library at Texas Christian University houses a collection of materials related to the Zonite Corporation in its archives and special collections. 

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“Paddy” is a song written by T.C. Bennet, also known as Theron C. Bennett, and published in 1906 by Victor Kremer Co. in New York. The song was composed for piano and voice and features lyrics centered on an Irish railway worker. The term “Paddy” comes from a corruption of the common Irish boy’s name Patrick and is an outdated slang term for an Irish man, now considered offensive. 

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The Aged, Sick, and Infirm Appeal, now known as St. Basil's Homes, is a Greek Orthodox nonprofit charity located in New South Wales, Australia. The organization was founded by Sister Mary Dorothea Flynn, a former Catholic nun, in 1954. The charity’s mission is to care and provide quality resources for the elderly. After leaving the Catholic Church, Sister Mary Dorothea Flynn aspired to open a home to fulfill her mission of starting a charitable cause. However, she faced financial setbacks and needed assistance to avoid selling her property. The Greek Orthodox Church contributed financial support and partnered with Sister Mary, becoming an established charity with a dedicated board. Today, the charity continues to serve the elderly community, housing 375 residents and offering a designated dementia wing, improving the lives of over 800 individuals.

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The United Protestant Association (UPA) was founded in Australia in 1940 during a time of division between Protestants and Roman Catholics by Thomas August, who began his work by providing homes for Protestant families and establishing care facilities for the elderly. August retired in 1962, and the UPA is now more focused on elderly care guided by Christian values. The UPA provides different types of care that allow older adults to maintain independence in the comfort and familiarity of their own homes or in assisted living. This button is a “testament to the past” of the UPA and “serves as a reminder of its impact” throughout history.

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The Sydney Rescue Work Society was established in 1890 and founded by George Edward Ardill, a printer and Gospel preacher. The Rescue Work Society was a non-denominational organization, founded on New Testament principles, and advocated for the reform of alcoholics and sex workers, and the protection of infants, women, and girls. The organization grew rapidly, and by 1911, it managed a variety of agencies including the South Sydney Women’s Hospital, Bethesda Home for Waiting Mothers, a training school for midwifery nurses, an adoption agency, and several homes for women, children, and the needy. These institutions were funded through the operation of a commercial laundry and the midwife training fees. 

Another way that the organization raised money to fund its operations was by organizing fundraising appeals and holding “button days” to sell pinback buttons and badges. Button days would be held all over Sydney and in neighboring towns, often at railway stations, and buttons just like this one valued at 1/-, 2/-, or 3/- were sold to raise money for specific organizations within the Rescue Work Society umbrella. 

** /- is the sign for British Shilling