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FEATURES
WEST VALLEY VIEW NEWS | FEBRUARY 13, 2019
Button collectors hosting state convention BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI West Valley View Managing Editor
When Martha Simmons was a young girl in Ajo, her mother, Barbara Yarberry, collected buttons. Her mother found them so fascinating she founded the Button Hooks Club. “I was born in Ajo and there wasn’t a lot for women to do,” said Simmons, who now lives in Glendale. “We had a friend who owned the flower shop there. My mother was really bored, so she would visit different people. We became acquainted with Mary Anderson, who helped my mom found the Button Hooks Button Club.” Simmons is continuing their hobby as a member of the Button Hooks Club, which meets the first Saturday of the month at Good Samaritan Society, Peoria Good Shepherd, 10333 W. Olive Avenue, Peoria. The group is hosting the Arizona State Button Society Convention on 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, February 16, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, February 17, at the Hilton Garden Inn, 11460 W. Hilton Way in Avondale. Themed “Wild West Roundup,” the
Martha Simmons of Glendale, Judy Thornhill of Avondale, Janis Adams of Phoenix, Jeni Hicke of Cave Creek, Janet Parker of Sun City and Nancy Craig of Phoenix sometimes buy clothing just for the buttons. They also decorate their outfits using the buttons they collect. (West Valley View photo by Christina Fuoco-Karasinski)
convention will feature educational exhibits, competitions following the guidelines form the National Button Society, and mini workshops. It is open to the public for $5 admission. Button collecting is a longtime favorite. In 1938 the National Button Society was formed. During the Great Depression, button collecting became an inexpensive distraction.
There are five clubs in Arizona – one in Tempe, two in Tucson, one in Peoria and one in Prescott. The Button Hooks Button Club is celebrating its 40th anniversary. The ladies of the group call buttons “miniature art.” “We even buy clothes just for the buttons,” said Judy Thornhill of Avondale. “The buttons have neat material
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like pearl, black glass, celluloid and resin. There are hundreds of materials that buttons are made of.” Many companies created buttons as well, including Colt Firearms, which manufactured them in 1932 for approximately 14 months. Thornhill showed select buttons that are considered made by Colt. More than 4.5 million buttons were manufactured during a 14-month period. One button is marked Colt, a twopart rouge button. Other buttons can only be authenticated when found on a Colt salesman’s sample card, or Colt patent or if their history is documented. Member Nancy Craig of Phoenix is a button artist, who sold a button for $252. It normally would sell for $5. Jeni Hicke of Cave Creek specializes in button purses. She was turned on to the club through a speaker at Paradise Valley Community College. “She encouraged me to come to this meeting,” she said. “I particularly like whistle buttons.” For more information, contact perryva@gmail.com or janiswood@aol.com.