Images(2)

Patch, Textile

Object number2012.72.2

Datec. 1951

MediumFelt, paint

Credit LineGift of Judy Freiland Shaffer

DescriptionCircular, white felt patch with red baseball stitching design down the sides. Image of a dog in the center of the patch that is wearing a baseball hat and jersey.Dimensions0.187 x 4.5 x 14.5 in. (0.5 x 11.4 x 36.8 cm)
InscriptionsText across top: "DENTAL / HONOR"/

Text across bottom: "PITTSBURGH / PUBLIC SCHOOLS".

Dog in the center of the patch is wearing a baseball hat that reads "PAL" across the bill and a jersey with "HAPPY" across the front.
Historical NotesHappy the Dog dental honor patch received by donor Judy Freiland Shaffer in the early 1950s when she attended kindergarten at Belmar School in Homewood. Happy the Dog was part of a program to promote dental health in Pittsburgh Public Schools. Happy the puppet, along with Tommy Molar, was invented by Ida Mae Stilley Maher in the 1950s to promote dental hygiene on her local children's television program "The Happy Show" that was shown on KDKA. Maher was the dental hygienist for Pittsburgh Public Schools. The patches were given out in local schools.

Related institution Pittsburgh Public Schools

Related person Ida Magdalena Maher

Related institution Belmar School

Related institution KDKA-TV

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