Finding its way to mailboxes, television screens and grassy front-yards, the realties of another election season will soon be upon voters in Illinois.
In the home office of one Springfield resident, that season is perennial.
Over the last 48 years, Gordon Wayman has assembled a political memorabilia collection spanning countless autographs, presidential PEZ dispensers and more than 3,000 campaign buttons.
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At the age of 18, Wayman then of Benton, Illinois, went to great lengths to meet former President Richard Nixon, whose decision to leave the Oval Office spurred his interest in politics. He sent artwork and gifts to Nixon, hoping for a chance to meet, and eventually a meeting was set in motion with an assist from eventual U.S. House Republican Leader Bob Michel and Gov. Jim Thompson.
Embroiled by Watergate and resigning from the presidency four years prior, Nixon was not hosting many in his San Clemente, Calif., home at the time. Still, an invitation was extended to Wayman who drove thousands of miles to meet the 37th president.
Wayman’s photo with Nixon, taking place just more than 45 years ago, is among his most cherished pieces of political memorabilia. The fandom extends to current day where artwork and a bill-signing pen used by the president reside in his home.
“We spoke for over an hour and kept people waiting,” Wayman recalled recently in an interview at his Lake Springfield-area home. “He told me ‘I really like your persistence.'”
What followed the 1978 meetup was a 30-year career for Wayman with the Illinois Secretary of State’s office, retiring in 2015. Along the way, he served as a page for the 1980 Republican National Convention in Detroit and was a delegate for the 1984 RNC in Dallas.
The collection has grown in the years since with additions from the 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns. Already a published author, he’s also writing a book detailing his meeting with Nixon.
His campaign buttons include every president from Kennedy to Biden but have also expanded to include items from Illinois campaigns and even a few buttons from former Chairman of the People’s Republic of China Mao Zedong. Wayman considers his cardboard fan of then-state Rep. Jim Edgar to be among his rarest items.
As much as campaigning has changed over the years, Wayman noted that messaging in some campaigns often has a retro-feel – just as former President Donald Trump has borrowed the “Make America Great Again” tagline from former President Ronald Reagan.
“Oftentimes, campaign buttons are now made by collectors themselves,” he said, fashioning his own Nixon campaign buttons for 2024.
Historians note William McKinley’s 1896 run for president as the first mass-produced campaign button, which helped draw awareness to the Republican’s victorious campaign.
The Daily Illinois State Journal credited “sound money Democrat” R.B. Miller, a resident of Marshall, Illinois, that same year for the advent of the modern campaign button consisting of a lapel bolt so it could be worn in the collar of a jacket.
Current-day political merchandising has extended beyond the button, now incorporating hoodies, ball caps, bumper stickers, and more. The Trump Fulton County mugshot, for instance, has been converted to merchandise by his Save America fundraising committee – the money being used to raise funds for his 2024 campaign and legal defense.
Gov. JB Pritzker’s campaign, JB for Governor, lists items such as crewneck sweaters, lapel pins, and Pride-themed t-shirts on its store website. The merchandise, however, is sold at cost and is not a revenue source according to a campaign spokesperson.
Ahead of next year’s election, Wayman is in the process of downsizing his collection. He plans on continuing listing items, including a bronze Abraham Lincoln figurine, on Facebook Marketplace for those interested.
Contact Patrick M. Keck: 312-549-9340, [email protected], twitter.com/@pkeckreporter.com
