I FOUND IT! The very first Kristi Noem pin!

This might be a Flashback Friday for the Governor.

The other day I was planning on hunting for some buttons around Fargo. I was bringing an entertainment cabinet up to my oldest for her apartment last weekend, since we’re putting in an electric fireplace. So I pulled up Facebook rummage sale for the area, thinking I might be able to snag some political pins.

And.. wait a minute… Grouped with a pile of non-political pins. One seller in the middle of nowhere clearing out his mom’s stuff had a pin that I had suspected might exist for years, but had never been able to find an example.

There it was. I FOUND IT!  The very first button on which – now Governor – Kristi Noem made an appearance. Except she wasn’t Governor, or even Congresswoman then. She wasn’t even Noem then. But Kristi was on a pin because she had won the Snow Queen crown at the previous years’ Snow Queen festival in 1990.

Now, the pin isn’t perfect, as it has some “foxing” – the rust colored spots that sometimes occur from the materials used to make the pinback.  But it’s still the only example I’ve been able to find since Kristi rose to prominence in the political scene, and it makes a great starting point to chronicle her public service career in political buttons.

And who knows? If Governor Noem rises to national office, it might also be worth a few shekels as it will become highly desirable for those in the political collector community.

For political item collectors, sometimes it’s all about the hunt, and confirming that something exists that you only suspected might be out there.

Now my only challenge is finding one in better condition. But until then, it will be added to my collection of pins for South Dakota political figures.