Black text on a white background with golden lines on the edges.

This free, limited-edition, commemorative button was made and distributed by the Busy Beaver Button Company in 2012 to celebrate the 116th birthday of the pinback button. July 21 was declared as the day to honor the button as a graphic art form and social communication device by button gurus, Ted Hake and Christen Carter. This specific date was chosen because it is the same date, in 1896, when the nation’s first and foremost button maker, Whitehead & Hoag of Newark, NJ received their final patent for their unique process.

White text on red edges and blue text on a white stripe down the middle of the button

WONW 1280 AM is a sports, news, and talk radio station located in Definance, Ohio. WONW has been on the air since 1948 and continues to broadcast programming in Defiance and the surrounding area.

A white background with red text and one red and one white ribbon attached to the bottom

Referring to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, this button most likely represents one of their sports teams. The University of Madison is a public research university that was founded when the territory received statehood in 1848. It is the oldest and largest public universities in the state. It contains 20 schools and colleges that enrolled 43,275 total students as of Fall 2013. The school is known for its prominence in sports. 

A pink background with white text and a white jet in the center

Winola High School opened in 1952 and was located in the small Illinois town of Viola (population under 1,000). In 1988, Winola was consolidated with high school students from the nearby New Windsor, and the combined school is called Sherrard High School. The Winola Jets colors were maroon and white and their fight song was "Go You Winola".

Black text on a yellow background

“Win” is to be victorious. It is a fusion of the Old English word “winnan” which means “to work at or struggle for,” and the word “gewinnan” which means “to succeed by struggling.” Winnan and gewinnan are both from the Proto-Germanic word “wennanan” which means “to seek to gain.”
 

Have info on this button? Contact us here.

A white background with red and blue text. In descending order, a blue city skyline, a red sock with a wing, and a flag

This button refers to the 1959 Chicago White Sox season wherein the team won their first pennant since 1919 after winning the American League (AL) championship. Upon victory, Chicago Mayor Richard J Daley had Chicago’s fire chief sound off the city’s air raid sirens. 

A red background with 2 horizontal white stripes and a black stripe across the middle. In the center are two men with dark hair and sunglasses wearing red jerseys and fedoras with one flipping a hockey puck and the other holding a trophy

This button has a double reference: The Blues Brothers and the Chicago Blackhawks hockey team. The Blackhawks won the National Hockey League (NHL) Stanley Cup in the 2012-2013 season, but lost the Cup to the Los Angeles Kings in overtime in the 2014 season. They were "on a mission" to bring the Stanley Cup back to Chicago in 2015.

"We're on a mission" is also a famous quote (and often repeated) from The Blues Brothers, a 1980 film starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, whose caricatures appear on the button.

Black text and lines forming a basketball on a yellow background and a yellow and black ribbon

Webster Groves High School of the Webster Groves School District is located in Webster Groves, Missouri and was established in 1889. The school sponsors an impressive amount of activities and sports and has many notable alumni.

This button was sold to students who attended the basketball games.

Pink background with white text

Have info on this button? Contact us here.

A white background with green text and a picture of a man wearing a roman helmet with a plume along the crown

Wauwatosa West High School is located in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, and opened in 1960. Together with its sister school, Wauwatosa East, they comprise the Wauwatosa School District. The high school is open to grades 9-12, has an enrollment of just over 1,000 students, and its colors are green and white. The Trojans have won several championships in a variety of sports, including swimming, softball, football, and hockey. They even have a drama group called the Trojan Players.