For someone with little interest in politics, James E. McDonald has a dizzying array of political memories. So many articles, in fact, I lost count long ago.
McDonald doesn’t even try to keep an inventory of the buttons, ribbons and small political signs he’s collected, some of them more than 130 years old. The joy of their hobby has been in the research, the conversation they create and the show.
“I like to look at them and visit people about them,” McDonald said. “Each one tells a story.”
His display cases can usually be found in what he calls “The Button Room” at his home in south Stillwater. Through the end of June, much of his collection is on display at the Stillwater History Museum in Sheerar.
The first article is a tape of the 1872 Democratic National Convention, held in Baltimore, in which New York newspaper editor Horace Greely was nominated to oppose Republican incumbent Ulysses S. Grant, who was reelected .
McDonald has at least one article from nearly every president for more than a century, starting with Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd president, who served from 1889 to 1893 and signed the proclamation authorizing the 1889 Land Run.
There is a definite Oklahoma flavor to the collection.
One of the rarest items is a pin promoting Dennis T. Flynn, a Guthrie attorney, for the Oklahoma Territorial Legislature in 1892. Flynn arrived in the Land Run of 1889, became an influential Republican legislator, and high profile and was included in the inaugural class. of the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1928.
Showing campaign articles from:
– Charles N. Haskell of Muskogee, the state’s first elected governor in the state in 1907; one of its buttons declares Haskell as “The Man Who Makes Things”.
– Haskell’s Republican opponent, Frank Frantz, an Enid businessman and appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt as the final governor of Oklahoma Territory (1906-1907). His button insists that Frantz will give “A Fair Deal for Everybody.”
– “WH Murray for President”, the governor of Oklahoma (1928-1932), better known as “Alfalfa Bill” who won only one delegate from outside Oklahoma at the 1932 Democratic convention.
– Robert S. Kerr, the first homegrown governor (1943-1947) born in the territory that was to become the state of Oklahoma. “I prefer Kerr,” declares one button. “Let’s bury Kerr,” replies another.
There is also a tilt from Stillwater. “Carl Anthony as Mayor”. “McMillan for District Attorney”. “I vouched for Judge Couch.” “Bob Kamm for Senate. “Jim Langley, District Attorney.” “Justice for All, Headrick for Judge.” And the smiling face of Wes Watkins appears.
Most of the McDonald’s collection is celluloid campaign buttons, from the late 19th century, when their popularity increased, to the late 20th century, when buttons gave way to ephemeral printed materials . Red, white and blue are the predominant colors.
McDonald, 78, said his first faint memories of politics were as a 4-year-old in September 1948, when he joined his parents to see a President Harry S. Truman on his “whistle” campaign train in Holdenville.
“It was very small, but maybe that planted a seed,” McDonald said.
After a childhood in the small town of Allen in Pontotoc County, McDonald served in the US Air Force Security Service and graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1971 with a degree in management construction Most of his career was with private construction companies, and one of his first assignments was on a project to lower OSU’s Lewis Field by 15 feet. In later years, he owned and operated Meridian Construction Company, which focused on commercial projects in Stillwater and Oklahoma. Before retiring in 2014, he worked for several years in long-range facilities planning for OSU.
McDonald credits his late wife, Jeanie, with launching his collection. During the first year of their marriage in 1970, she mounted several campaign buttons she had haphazardly collected on blue felt and hung them in the guest room as decoration.
McDonald was inspired, even joining the American Political Items Collectors hobby group and attending their convention in St. Louis to buy, sell and trade. Spencer’s wife’s uncle owned an antique store and had an eye for items, and friends have contributed items as well.
“Almost everyone seems to have some campaign buttons that have been forgotten in a box or in an attic,” McDonald said.
He said he rarely spent more than $15 to $20 per item, although many have increased in value since they were first acquired.
Stillwater History Museum Director Amelia Chamberlain said the McDonald’s display has been popular since it was installed several weeks ago. The exhibit is the latest in “Stillwater Collects,” the museum’s rotating exhibits of private collections from local hobbyists.
The museum, 702 S. Duncan St. It is open to visitors Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., free of charge, but donations are welcome. More information available at stillwaterokhistory.org.
