Amalgamated Association of Street and Electrical Railway Employees of America 1958

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Text on Button JAN - FEB - MAR - APR - MAY - JUNE - JULY - AUG - SEPT - OCT - NOV - DEC - DIV. #241 AFL-C10 A.A. OF S.E.R. & M.E. OF A. 1958
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An illustration of a trolley, a train, and a bus with purple text above and below the illustration. A purple ring with white text on it surrounds the illustration. The illustration and purple text are set against a white background. 

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The Amalgamated Association of Street and Electrical Railway Employees of America (AASEREA), Local 241 was chartered on 1 April 1902 in Chicago, Illinois. The AASEREA, itself, was founded ten years before in Indianapolis, Indiana. Street railway employees had been trying to organize since the late 1880s, but it took Samuel Gompers, of the American Federation of Labor (AFL), to become involved to get the union off the ground.  

In 1958, Division 241 members earned up to $2.52 per hour, which was up one dollar an hour from the late 1940s.  The reason for the steady, if not sharp, wage increase of nearly one dollar over the previous decade was that the union's president had encouraged unions to negotiate cost-of-living raises based upon the consumer index.  The wage made Chicago drivers the best paid in the union. 

Sources

About Local 241. (n.d.). Local 241 Amalgamated Transit Union AFL-CIO/CLC. Retrieved October 3, 2014, from http://transitweb.atu.org/sites/midwest/local241/index.cfm?action=artic…

Amalgamated Transit Union Staff. (1992). A history of the Amalgamated Transit Union. Retrieved October 3, 2014, from http://www.atu.org/atu-pdfs/conventiondocs/convention-docs/History-of-t…

Catalog ID CL0258

Amalgamated Association of Street and Electrical Railway Employees of America 1933

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Text on Button DIVISION 241 A A OF S & E R E OF A DECEMBER 1933
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An illustration of a trolley with green text below it and red and green text above it.  Around the trolley is a Christmas wreath and everything is set on a white background. 

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GERAGHTY & COMPANY
G  Union Label
3035-37 W.LAKE ST.
CHICAGO. USA

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The Amalgamated Association of Street and Electrical Railway Employees of America was founded in 1892. The union originated during a meeting of the American Federation of Labor in 1891 at which president Samuel Gompers was asked to invite the local street railway associations to form an international union. The first president of the union was William J. Law, with the headquarters located in Detroit. Today, the union is now known as the Amalgamated Transit Union.

Catalog ID CL0238

Alhambra Grotto Masonic Organization

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Text on Button ALHAMBRA GROTTO JUNE 1926 (MR. ERMONDSUN?)
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Cloth-like surface. Red around the outer edge with a blue background and white text along the top and the bottom and an illustartion of a person in a red turban with horns on either side of their head over a white banner with the faint remainder of text that appears to say N. ERMONDSUN or MR. ERMONDSUN

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Printed & Manufactured BY STEINER ENGRAVING & BADGE CO. 804 Pine St. St. Louis. With a union bug in the center

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The Mystic Order of Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Real, a.k.a. M.O.V.P.E.R., is an organization composed of Master Freemason's who are dedicated to good fellowship and friendship. The organization is subdivided into subunits known as "Grottoes". One such Grotto is the Alhambra Grotto in St. Louis, Missouri. It maintained a clubhouse for its membership located in the Liederkranz Society Hall in St Louis. The Grotto also maintained its operations in a facility in Phelps County, Missouri complete wth recreational facilities and a small railroad station in a country club-like atmosphere.

Catalog ID CL0297

Advanced Beginner Swimmer

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Text on Button ADVANCED BEGINNER SWIMMER
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A red cross on a red background with white text on a blue ring surrounding it.

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The Advanced Beginner Swimmer button was awarded to participants who completed the same self-titled swim class offered by the American Red Cross throughout the U.S. During the mid to late 1900s, various swim clubs and public pools taught these water safety and skills classes by ARC certified instructors.  Some primary goals of the Advanced Beginner Swimmer class was for participants to enter the water by jumping from the side of the pool, use combined leg and are movements, and bobbing.  General aquatic safety for the Advanced Beginner Swimmer included calling for help, and recognizing when they've spent too long in the sun.   

Catalog ID CL0244

1921 Club

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Text on Button 1921 CLUB
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White text on a blue background. 

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union bug

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The 1921 Club is Robert Morris University’s official athletics booster club. Donors support student athletes and, in return, receive special access to athletic events. Robert Morris University (RMU) is located in Moon, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. The date on the button (1921) refers to the year RMU was founded. The university is named after Robert Morris, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and financier of the American Revolution. It is not affiliated with Robert Morris University-Illinois.

Catalog ID CL0233

Valley Forge Beer

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Text on Button Make Friends with Valley Forge Beer
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Orange text with part of it outlined in black. A woman is displayed wearing a blue and orange colonial outfit complete with tri-corner hat. Yellow stars go around half of the rim. 

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Valley Forge Beer was created by the Scheidt Brewing Company, a US brewery founded in the late 1870s by Charles Scheidt in Norristown, Pennsylvania. It was introduced in 1912 against the protests of the Valley Forge Chapter of the American Daughters of the American Revolution. This post-Prohibition button advertising Valley Forge Beer dates back to the 1940s or 1950s.

Catalog ID BE0115

The Strohman

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Text on Button The Strohman
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White text on a red background with a head of a snowman wearing a black top hat with small white text.

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Stroh Brewery Company was started in 1850 by Bernhard Stroh, a German immigrant, in Detroit, MI. Stroh’s was very successful and survived through the Prohibition era by making ice cream and malt syrup. The ownership of the company was passed through multiple generations of the Stroh family but hit their peak in the 1980s. In 1999, unable to keep the business running within the family,  it was sold to multiple companies.

Catalog ID BE0056

Budweiser Malt Liquor

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Text on Button Now Super Bad BUDWEISER. malt liquor
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White and red text with a red exclamation mark on a black background.

Curl Text (union bug)
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Budweiser is a pale lager produced by Anheuser–Busch InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Adolphus Busch from Saint Louis, MO it has grown to become one of the highest selling beers in the United States, and is available in over 80 markets worldwide. Adolphus Busch traveled extensively in Europe to observe and study the latest brewing techniques. In the 1870s, Anheuser-Busch became the first American brewery to implement pasteurization, which greatly improved the shelf-life and transportability of its beers. In the mid-1800s, most Americans preferred robust, dark ales, but Busch had encountered lighter lager beers during his travels and began brewing a light Bohemian lager. Anheuser-Busch introduced this lager in 1876 under the brand name Budweiser.

Catalog ID BE0087

Stroh's Party Center

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Text on Button Stroh’s Party Center; Stroh’s Beer
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Red and yellow text outline in black on a white background with a yellow and red semi circle.

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The Stroh Brewery Company was a beer brewery located in Detroit, Michigan. It began in 1850 with the arrival of Bernhard Stroh from Germany. By the 1980s, Stroh’s produced or bought the rights to several other brands as well as manufacturing Stroh's Ice Cream. The Stroh’s family fortune was estimated to be worth at least $700 million. Unfortunately, a decade later, Stroh’s was in serious financial trouble due to some poor business decisions. The company was taken over and broken up in 2000, but some of its brands continue to be made by the new owners. Stroh's beer is currently owned and operated by Pabst Brewing Company.

Catalog ID BE0126