Where it all started
Tonka was founded in Mound, Minnesota, United States of America in 1946. Lynn Everett Baker, Avery Crounse, and Alvin Tesch created the company in an old schoolhouse. The Streater Company had previously made various toys including toy trucks. E.C Streater did not want to pursue the toy business further and approached Mound Mentalcraft for a takeover. The above 3 named men decided this may be a good subsidiary business to their main production. There were some modifications in logo, and production and in 1955 Mound Mentalcraft changed its name to Tonka Toys Inc (Tonka meaning big or great).
The companies growth
Tonka now a household name are well known for big metal industrial toy trucks. They also produced other toys including dolls (Star Fairies, Bathing Beauties, Maple Town and Hollywoods). They made Gobots, Legions of Power, Steel Monsters and many other lines of toys. Tonka continued through the decades to evolve with the demand for the latest craze and even produced video games including Tonka Raceway. Tonka is highly collectable today and The Winifred Museum in Montana has a collection of over 3000 Tonka Toys. In 2001 Tonka Trucks entered the National Toy Hall of Fame in New York.
The Companies Finances
In 1987 Tonka bought Kenner Parker and Pallitoy for 555 million dollars. However to purchase they had to borrow money, a huge gamble that didn’t pay off so well. Tonka found itself needing a buyer to cover the expensive expenditure and so Hasbro bought them out in 1991.
Where to find us
Wildcard Curiosities is based in Freemen’s Common Antique Centre, 8 Counting House Road, Leicester, LE2 7LT.
The centre is open from Tuesday – Saturday 10am-5pm and Sunday 10am-4pm.
There is a café and toilets on site
We also have an online shop