South Hills resident Polly Power, 64, discovered some beautiful clothing buttons at a local auction eight years ago. She lost the bid, but walked away with a new hobby that has taken on a life of its own.
"They draw you in," Power says. "It is like a spider's web. They are beautiful, incredibly made, some of them have fine workmanship and they involve history. They just get you because there are so many things you can think about. "
Power met a member of the Keystone Button Club of Western Pennsylvania at the same auction and was invited to join their organization. The club, which was founded in 1947, has a current membership of 30 and is one of six clubs for button collectors and enthusiasts in Pennsylvania.
As the club's librarian for the past six years, Power maintains the club's books and periodicals and helps members research and prepare information for programs. She presented five programs last year and often is referred to as "the button lady."
"People call me that. People get so tickled by this concept, that people collect buttons," Power says. "But what they don't know is that there are hundreds of people around the country that are called 'the button lady.' "
Power credits the April 2009 Pennsylvania State Button Society Show, which was in Western Pennsylvania for the first time since the 1980s, to an increase in local interest. The show generates enthusiasm by bringing in numerous collectors and dealers and sponsoring various button competitions. There are two shows annually, and the location changes each year.
The Keystone Button Club hosted the event and created publicity through advertising and button displays at local libraries and community centers.
Power's most recent program on Jan. 27, sponsored by the Historical Society of Mt. Lebanon at the Mt. Lebanon Library, drew a crowd of 50 men and women, many of whom brought buttons, hoping that Power could help identify them.
Julie Agar, 72, an Upper St. Clair resident and retired college professor, asked about her father's World War I military jacket buttons and a large bag of vintage buttons she had purchased at a garage sale in Mt. Lebanon for $2.
"It is something that is affordable," Agar says. "I love antiques, and I love old things. The fun of it is that now that I know how to display the buttons, I can set them up and trade them."
An avid collector of antique fans, dolls and red pressed glass, Agar plans to join the newly formed Bethel Park Library Button Club, which will meet at 11 a.m. the last Wednesday of each month under Power's direction.
"I think it is something particularly women can relate to," says Mary Mullen, Bethel Park outreach librarian. "We like to bring people into the library who are looking to connect with other people who have the same interests and give them a space to meet."
Power suggests individuals interested in starting button collections begin at home.
"Almost everybody has an old button box, because they (buttons) were saved for possible reuse," Power says. "It can be fascinating to go through it (the box) and identify more information, even about the most common, ordinary buttons."
She also recommends attending the Keystone Button Club Sale on June 26 at the Bakerstown United Methodist Church in Gibsonia. Local collectors and club members will be selling buttons from their personal collections and will be available to answer questions.
For more information, visit keystonebuttonclub.org , pabuttonsociety.org or nationalbuttonsociety.org .
