The above photos from the O.O. Brown collection tell the story of a time back in 1911-1915 when the iridescent buttons on your shirt might well have been made by the McKee and Bliven Button Company of Paden City from mother-of-pearl lined mussels. The shimmering lining of these freshwater mussels provided the material for this uncommon industry and were found and caught in the Ohio River and its tributaries. At one time mussels were known to line the floor of the Ohio River in many areas, but the rush to supply the new button industry sprouting along the banks of both the Mississippi and Ohio had devastating effects on the mussel population that still struggles today. The process of garnering and preparing shells for sale to the factory was a time-consuming venture. Shells once gathered by mussel boat or individuals, known as clammers, had to be cleaned out by boiling in huge pots (sometimes pearls were found), then steamed in large vats for 4-5 days. Locals complained of the ripe odors wafting through the air from the large pots before the button cutters using their tiny gas-powered saws could produce their lucrative mother-of-pearl buttons.

The mussel rich river basin proved to be a profitable area for button making along the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers until the invention of plastic brought a sudden end to the industry.

Three pictures are shown above: one collecting mussels on the river, another of the employees standing on a “mountain” of mussel shells and one of the button cutters. Job Smith has been identified. Can you identify the others? Are they possibly your great grandfather?

Be sure and visit the Paden City Museum and Cultural Center to see the vast collection of artifacts, pictures and written materials depicting our town, its businesses, schools and the history of its people. The Museum is located at 105 W. Main Street and is a project of the Paden City Foundation, Inc. The good old days are here at the Paden City Museum on Thursdays from 1 – 3 PM, Fridays from 1 – 3 PM and Saturdays from 9 – 11 AM. See you there.