Six black overlapping semicircles with a diamond in the middle form a decorative background around the word "Galleria" with black text on the upper and lower edges on a silver background.

The Galleria in Portland, Oregon, was the result of a remodel in the 1970s. The original building had been constructed in 1910 by Olds Wortman and King. It was the first department store to take up an entire city block in the Northwest. The building is located on the corners of Morrison, Alder, Tenth, and West Park streets. The store was taken over by the Schlessinger Company in 1925 and the building was remodeled with new window displays and interior enhancements to make the store resemble Chicago’s famous Marshall Field’s building. Department stores continued to utilize the space until the 1970s when the building was obtained by Bill and Sam Naito who then turned the large building into a mall. The newly renovated Galleria held 42 stores on three floors. As interest in malls diminished over the years, the building moved all of the retail onto the first floor and the Western Culinary Institute and restaurant moved into the upper floors. 

White text on a green background. The business information is smaller and rounds the side of the button face.

After working for Frank’s Drum Shop on Wabash Avenue for five years, William Crowden (1931-2013) established Drums Unlimited.  He operated the retail business from November 1963 to January 1991.  It became one of the most renowned music retail locations in the Midwest with customers that included world famous drummers, i.e. Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich and Max Roach.

Large red text with a smaller piece of red text under it in quotes, both are surrounded by a ring made of two blues lines and one red line  

The Choozie Wear Corporation was founded in 1980 in New York and closed in 1996. The Choozie Wear Corporation sold children's clothing and switched from producing clothing in Hong Kong and China to producing clothing in U.S. cities during the early 90s. 

Red-trimmed white text on the center left portion of button and red text on the bottom portion of the button. A color image of a pig with golden wings and bow on the right portion of the button. The image and text lie on a cloud background. 

The “Angelic Pigasus” was created by the American artist Peter Apsit (1937-1999). After attending the University of Southern California for a degree in fine art in the early 1960s, he had a 25-year career as an artist. Apsit’s early career consisted of sculpting fountains and other free-lance projects. Eventually Apsit’s works was picked up by giftware companies and were sold in the form of collectible trinkets. Apsit was known not only for his sense of humor and cheerful personality, but his work was also known for being extremely detailed and intricate. Most of the collectible figurines that Apsit created were animals and various people. Some of the most popular figurines were his pigs with wings. Calabar Creations was a company based in Ontario, California that would sell collections of figurines including a lot of Apsit’s creations.

White words on a blue background and a blue number inside of a white circle.

This is most likely a button indicating the wearer brought someone with them to Sunday School.

An illustration of a yellow urn with yellow text on a blue background. 

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The button has an outer dark blue circle with white text and an inner white circle with blue text. A horizontal dark blue line runs through the center of the white circle.

The United Steelworker of America (USW) is one of the most famous, and largest, unions in United States History. The union began in 1942 when the Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel, and Tin Workers met with the Steel Workers Organization Committee to form a new unified union of steelworkers. The organization grew over time as more metal-related workers joined including the Aluminium Workers of America in 1944. One of the early major victories for the USW was gaining pensions for workers at Bethlehem Steel in Maryland. In 1952, the first president of the USW, Phillip Murray, passed away. The USW, recently, merged with a British labor organization making it the first Trans-Atlantic trade union since the mid-1930s. Today, the union has nearly a million members, is very active politically, has dramatically expanded the base that it represents and shows no signs of slowing down.

This button refers to dues being paid by 'check off'. This means that the dues paid by unions members are simply taken directly from their pay check.

Illustration of a black torch with white text on the torch and a red flame in the center of the button with black text above it and red text below it on a white background.

The United Way was founded in the late nineteenth century by a Denver woman, a priest, a rabbi, and two ministers. The charity was established to raise funds to help community members. The money was given to local organizations, relief funds, and emergency assistance grants. The first campaign that Denver United Way conducted raised $21,700. By 1948 there were more than 1,000 United Way community organizations across the United States. They became an international organization in the 1970s. The United Way in more recent years has held influential fundraising campaigns for events such as September 11^th. The local drives for funds are all organized by volunteers. The vision of the organization is to help create “a world where all individuals and families achieve their human potential through education, income stability and healthy lives.”

An illustration of bible with white text above and below it on a purple background.

The Home Department was conceived in 1881 by W. A. Duncan of New York State. The movement grew to encompass members of various denominations including Congregational, Baptist, Presbyterian and Methodist churches. The Home Department was formed to provide Bible study and instruction for people that were unable to attend Sunday-school. An article in the Saint Louis Christian Evangelist, from September 20, 1894, explains that some of the people that may not be able to attend Sunday-school include “hotel clerks, domestics, railroad men, mothers with small children, the incurably sick, and the aged.” (pg. 99). This article also explains that the department works by obtaining a list of absentees and then canvassing to gather information about all of the reasons for why those people were absent. Those that joined the Home Department had to agree to the following pledge:

“I agree to join the Home Department of the ______ Sunday-school, and to spend at least one half hour each Sunday, or during the week, in the study of the lesson for that day, unless prevented by sickness, or other cause. I will continue my membership until I notify the superintendent of my withdrawal.” (ibid).

Broadhurst, WM. S. (1894, September 20). The Home Department of the Sunday-School. Saint Louis Christian Evangelist. 99.

A black union symbol and text on a red background.

The Local 429 Teamster organization of Reading, Pennsylvania have a mission to unite all workers that are eligible for membership regardless of race, sex, color, religious affiliation, etc. This local group has been around for over 70 years and has worked hard to provide support for workers in various professions; in industries such as dairy, freight, transit drivers, construction, etc. Support for these employees came in the form of education, improved wages, and other resources. The teamsters help by their ability to engage in collective bargaining and other union activities. The overarching International Brotherhood of Teamsters was founded in 1903 in Chicago. The union was very aggressive concerning higher wages and shorter hours. The teamster unions were also known for being corrupted bribe takers that participated in organized crime.