John Keeslar of Coldwater collected political memorabilia. After his
death in 1990, his family donated his collection to the Michigan Historical
Museum.
An outstanding representation of the political party system and independent
points of view, the more than 4,000 artifacts in the Keeslar collection
illustrate a broad range of political themes, slogans and designs.
John Keeslar taught senior government at Coldwater High School. He was a
Republican and served his state as a member of the Electoral College for the
1972 presidential election.
Political memorabilia comes in a wide variety of media and messages. Keeslar focused
on the Republican Party, which uses the elephant as its main symbol and the
initials GOP for "Grand Old Party." His collection
illustrates some of the unusual ways in which Americans have supported a
cause or shown support
for a particular candidate.
