Old Enough Jan 2008
Old Enough to Remember
January 2008
Welcome to The Plaza Pages Newsletter San Angelo, Texas
Yo-Yo
The first United States patent on the toy was issued to James L. Haven and Charles Hettrich in 1866 (U.S. Patent 59,745 ) under the name whirligig, however, the yo-yo would remain in relative anonymity until 1928 when a Filipino American named Pedro Flores opened the Yo-Yo Manufacturing Company in Santa Barbara, California. The business started with a dozen handmade toys; by November of 1929, Flores was operating two additional factories in Los Angeles and Hollywood, which altogether employed 600 workers and produced 300,000 units daily.
The Duncan Era
Shortly thereafter (ca. 1930), an entrepreneur named Donald Duncan recognized the potential of this new fad and purchased the Flores Yo-yo Corporation and all its assets, including the Flores name, which was transferred to the new company in 1932. He is reputed to have paid more than $250,000, a fortune by depression era standards. It turned out to be a sound investment, making many times this amount in the years to follow.
Edit by Norman Bliss
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