Thank you for printing the article about Aron Arias donating the buttons to the Button Club at Stonebridge at Montgomery. Soon after the May 8 issue of U.S. 1 was distributed, the New Jersey State Button Society (NJSBS) began getting phone calls from your readers. Visitors to the May 11 NJSBS Show in Titusville were able to take home Arias buttons, decorated by the Stonebridge club, along with the article that explained the connection between the buttons and the Arias family, how Larry (Leb) Arias learned to be a tailor in the Russian gulag and, as a tailor in New York, accumulated thousands of sample buttons.
Your newspaper told the heartwarming story of how Leb Arias met and married a woman from his own home town in Poland, and you introduced the hobby of button collecting to your readers. Readers seeking more information can call the Stonebridge Button Club at 609-468-2195, or go to NewJerseyStateButtonSociety.com, or to NationalButtonSociety.org, or email buttonsinnewjersey@gmail.com.
Arias buttons will also be available for visitors to take home at the next NJSBS Show and Competition on Saturday, September 14 at the Union Fire Company and Rescue Squad, 1396 River Road, Titusville NJ.
Pam Muzio
President, New Jersey State Button Society
