Pins of the Past: Discovering ADOT’s history at a local thrift shop

We turn 50 years old this month and have many milestones to celebrate! With a myriad of walks down memory lane this month, we’ve got one here that may be a bit more personal. At least for one ADOT employee.

About a month ago, we got a tip from an inside source that a local thrift shop received several pins once owned by an ADOT employee. And if a picture is worth a thousand words, these three commemorative items can tell a whole story.

We start with this pin, in the shape of the State of Arizona, etched with “ADOT” in the agency’s original orange color. Unfortunately, we’re unable to place the year or timeframe of when this pin was made.

This pin, however, shows an exact and very special date in the agency’s, and nation’s for that matter, history. This one commemorates “The Final Link” of Interstate 10 with the opening of the Deck Park Tunnel on August 10th, 1990. The tunnel truly marked the final link, as Interstate 10 was finally finished from Los Angeles, California to Jacksonville, Florida.

Next up is a pin bestowed to ADOT employees with 20 years of service. You see the 20 inside a shape of Arizona surrounded by a desert landscape in the agency’s primary colors at the time. We thank the pin-owner for serving the people of Arizona for at least two decades. 

Have you ever found something significant to your life or place of business in a thrift store? Tell us your stories on social media