A piece of national park history surfaced at Point Pelee National Park this week – a pair of parks badges from 1939 and 1940. The pair of metal badges were used to gain entry to national parks for the season, and were traditionally affixed to the grille of a vehicle so that a gate attendant could easily spot them. The badges found at point Pelee this week feature a beaver, but western Canadian park passes featured a bison at the time. In 1940, the pass would have run you only a dollar. Made from aluminum and copper, the metal passes were discontinued after metals were redirected to the war effort in the 1940’s. Although the charming metal badges are no longer available, their paper equivalent can still be purchased to gain access to Canadian national parks.
