Memories of long forgotten campaigns and candidates are renewed through the preservation of these discarded buttons and ribbons.

Ardent collector, Bob Warren, has a collection of campaign material that spans 1864 to 2008 in his own museum of political history.

In a carefully curated room, the son of the late Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Earl Warren, has a vast collection of political art, cataloged and cased in specially made cabinets and shadow boxes. “I don’t think I have a favorite,” he said. “I like to put things together as a group by elections or candidates or events.”

Earl Warren's grandfather Halvor Olson Vaare from Norway. His name was changed when he immigrated to the U.S.

According to Warren, the first celluloid pinbacks were produced in 1896 and have become the mainstay of campaigning ever since. He held up a large tin button with the image of President Theodore Roosevelt, used in the election in 1900, and said with admiration, “Looks like it was made yesterday.”

Warren began his collection in 1978 when his mother, Nina Warren, gave him mementos from his father’s career, first as district attorney of Alameda County, then as Attorney General for the State of California, followed by three terms as Governor of California and finally as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (1953-1969). In 1948, Earl Warren was the Vice Presidential running mate of Thomas E. Dewey in his bid to become president of the United States. The race was so close that a morning newspaper erroneously declared Dewey the winner before the final count was in. Warren has a framed copy of the front page of the Chicago Daily Tribune newspaper hanging on the wall next to a banner with Dewey and Warren for President in its center.

Four Leaf Clover clock-Most likely one of a kind. Found in brother Jim's barn

Earl Warren swore in four Presidents during his tenure as Chief JusticeÉ Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Richard M. Nixon. Among Bob’s collection are photographs of the inaugurations and inaugural eve metal parking signs which again help to pull significant events in focus.

Bob Warren was seven years old when his father became governor and moved the family from Oakland to Sacramento. He attended public schools and graduated from McClatchy High. He next attended the University of California at Davis, an institution with less than 1500 students at the time. But instead of law, he earned a degree in physical education and a second in psychology.

“Then I went to prison,” he said with a smile. “I was the Supervisor of Recreation at the Soledad Correctional Facility for four years.

Family photo 1938, Oakland, Ca.

Following four years with the Department of Corrections in the Sacramento office, Warren left State service and started a career in real estate. He opened his own office in 1968 and quickly found a nitch in Davis and the surrounding communities as a developer of investment properties in conjunction with local contractors. Through the years he was active in community service, and served on the Davis City Planning Commission, the Yolo County Board of Realtors and Chamber of Commerce.

Palm Beach County, Florida Voting Booth(see article)

As a collector, Warren is a member of American Political Items Collectors, with a nationwide membership of approximately 4000 collectors. The group hosts local, regional and national conventions throughout the United States where memorabilia can be bought, sold or traded.

One of his most unusual possessions is a hair brush and Yardley gel used by John F. Kennedy in preparation for his final debate with Nixon in 1960. “Senator Kennedy inadvertently left the items in his dressing room. My sister, who was married to John Daley, who was covering the debate for ABC, was given the items in an envelope and asked if she would take them to her home in Washington D.C. and a Kennedy aide would pick them up. That never happened and 30 years later the envelope was found in my sister’s basement.”

A more recent member of Warren’s collection is a Palm Beach County, Florida, voting booth from the disputed election of Al Gore and George W. Bush. Still in place is a ballot and hanging chads.

“I don’t collect for profit,” said Warren. I enjoy piecing together political artifactsÉobjects that were once used in a campaign but forgotten by the very persons they represented.” Warren’s collection spans 146 years (1864-2010). “I don’t buy reproductions. The purpose is to see and enjoy and let others enjoy.”

Iwo Jima photo(see article)

In 1991, Warren wrote a collectors manual on 100 years of national president tabs that he sold to Hobbyists. His website POLITICALSPLUS.com will ultimately become a reference library for tabs(metal fold-overs) used by local, U.S.Senate, Congressional and Gubenatorial candidates.

” I also collect memorabilia from WW11,” he said, showing a MacArthur for President button. “I have an undying appreciation for the sacrifice made by so many men and women to protect our freedom.” Warren has a photo, signed by the photographer Joe Rosenthal of the U.S. Marines raising the flag on Iwo Jima February 23, 1945.

Earl Warren’s grandfather Halvor Olson Vaare from Norway. His name was changed when he immigrated to the U.S.

Four Leaf Clover clock-Most likely one of a kind. Found in brother
Jim’s barn

The eldest of the Brady Bunch children, Barry Williams was born in Santa Monica, California on September 30, 1954. From the ages of three to eleven, Barry constantly bugged his parents to get him into show business. After eight persistent years, his parents finally gave in and took him to an agent. Immediately, he began acting in television commercials. Then of course, came television shows, such as Dragnet, That Girl, Mission Impossible, Marcus Welby and ultimately, The Brady Bunch.

The situation comedy about a widow and three daughters and a widower with three sons aired in September, 1969 and lasted for five seasons. Barry was cast as Greg Brady, the oldest son. Barry remembers his audition. “There were hundreds of kids in all shapes and sizes. The show’s creator, Sherwood Schwartz, greeted me warmly and asked the usual questions — ’How old are you?’ ‘What are your hobbies?’ The meeting went well — we hit it off and on my fourteenth birthday we filmed the first episode.”

Barry became a teen idol and was receiving about 800 fan letters a week by the time the series ended. Barry continued to appear in various ‘Brady-themed’ shows and reunions. There was The Brady Bunch Variety Hour, A Very Brady Christmas, The Brady Brides and The Bradys. In addition to his most famous role, he continued to act on television in such shows as Murder She Wrote and Highway To Heaven. However, it is his love of musical theater that has kept him the most busy.

After appearing on stage in such productions as West Side Story, Barry won the lead role in the Broadway musical, Romance, Romance. The show was a hit and there was a resurgence in his career. He toured the country and was approached by Harper-Collins to write his autobiography.

Nostalgia fans were obviously excited when Growing Up Brady was published — making it a bestseller. The book’s frankness and behind the scenes stories made for very interesting read.

Currently, Barry lives in Marina Del Rey, California. He is an avid tennis player and his Barry Williams Celebrity Tennis Tournament raises money for missing and abused children. And yes, he still maintains freindships with his Brady co-stars — his extended family. Every week he plays tennis with Christopher Knight (Peter Brady). His words on being a child actor? “Unlike other child actors, I have been extraordinarily lucky. My family and home life provided the stability that is so crucial to growing up.”

*As a side note — Barry loved the accompanying caricature of himself and even remembers wearing the shirt!

• October 1– Born,Walter Matthau, American actor (The Odd Couple) (d. 2000)
• October 15– Born, Mario Puzo, American author (The Godfather) (d. 1999)
• October 22– Born, Timothy Leary, American psychologist and author, proponent of LSD (d. 1996)
• October 27– The League of Nations moves its headquarters to Geneva, Switzerland.

October 1930

• October 1– Born, Richard Harris, Irish actor (d. 2002)
• October 17– Born, Robert Atkins, American nutritionist (d. 2003)
• October 17– Born, Jimmy Breslin, American newspaper columnist and author
• October 24– Born, The Big Bopper, American singer. (d. 1959)

October 1940

• October 9 – Born, John Lennon, British musician and singer (The Beatles) (d. 1980)
• October 16 –The draft registration of approximately 16 million men begins in the United States.
• October 29 – The Selective Service System lottery is held in Washington, D.C..
• October 23 – Born, PelÈ, Brazilian footballer
• October 25 – Born, Bobby Knight, American basketball coach
• October 27 –Born, John Gotti, American gangster (d. 2002)

October 1950

• October 2 – The comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz is first published in seven U.S. newspapers.
• October 7–The 1950-1951 invasion of Tibet by People’s Republic of China begins.
• October 11 – The Federal Communications Commission issues the first license to broadcast television in color, to CBS (RCA will successfully dispute and block the license from taking effect, however).

October 1960

• October 12 – Cold War: Nikita Khrushchev pounds his shoe on a table at a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, his way of protesting the discussion of the Soviet Union’s policies toward Eastern Europe.
• October 14 – Presidential candidate John F. Kennedy first suggests the idea for the Peace Corps of the United States.
• October 29 –≠ In Louisville, Kentucky, Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali) wins his first professional boxing match.

October 1970

• October 2 – The Wichita State University football team’s “Gold” plane crashes in Colorado, killing most of the players. They were on their way (along with administrators and fans) to a game with Utah State University.
• October 4 – In Los Angeles, Rock and blues singer Janis Joplin dies in her hotel room, from an overdose of heroin.
• October 5 – The Public Broadcasting Service begins broadcasting.
• October 17 – Anwar Sadat officially becomes President of Egypt.
• October 26 – Garry Trudeau’s comic strip Doonesbury debuts in approximately two dozen newspapers in the United States.

October 1980

• October 10 – British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher delivers her famous ‘The lady’s not for turning’ speech.
• October 14 – The Staggers Rail Act is enacted, deregulating American railroads.
• October 31 – The Polish government recognizes Solidarity.

October 1990

• October 3 – Cold War: East Germany and West Germany reunify into a single Germany.
• October 14 – Leonard Bernstein dies of a heart attack at his home in New York City. He is 72 years old.
• October 17 – The Internet Movie Database is launched by American Col Needham, giving internet users the opportunity to search for film information online
• October 25 – Evander Holyfield defeats James “Buster” Douglas for the Heavyweight Boxing crown.

Notice if these poets have written about their own surroundings or if they have traveled to parks or waterways, to wildlife areas or to different regions of a state or country. All of this will give you clues to your own approaches. You might decide to use materials or phenomena drawn from your own surroundings, from your travels, or from your personal recollections. Regardless of the source or sources you use, you will quickly find that your imagination will be taxed. This is a season filled with so much change the weather cools, a harbinger of colder and wetter weather to come. And the moods invoked sometimes even the shorter days will be a meaningful factor to be addressed. Observe the changes of autumn. Read and study how other poets have handled the color and passion of this season. Above all, begin to write. In some ways, October will come to you. But you must go to October with a lyric openness to write the poetry of autumn’s exquisite transitions.

STUDY
Three Worlds, photograph by Clifton Albergotti

Depiction:
three worlds:
earth . water . air
(Where the occupant?)
motion . stillness . depth

light and substance reconciled.
(Where the intrusive, changing eye?)
No eye must worry this tremulous light,
unsteady substance. What least is most?
Whose faith reaches here? Whose doubt?

Nothing will ever change for the frozen moment.
Everything will change for the penultimate moment.
Extreme to extreme—awe—and what is missed—
word swallowed by no sound—silence that disturbs.
All this is to memory is what it reveals, what it troubles.

—Joyce Odam