Members of Great Northern’s 1925 Upper Missouri Historical Expedition apparently received a pin such as this one to wear during the trip. It probably made it easier to identify who was and who was not a member of the expedition and thus entitled to reboard the train after each event along the way.

Click image to download a 330-KB PDF of this pin.

The back of the pin says it was made by the Western Badge & Novelty Co., John A. (for Apollonarius) Lethert, president, located at 397 Wabasha Avenue in St. Paul. Lethert founded the company in 1904 and it continued to operate until at least 1976. A building at 397 Wabasha no longer exists, but it was very close to the Wabasha Caves, which were apparently used as a casino and tavern during Prohibition.