Backwards In Time -- A Look Back In History -- Index of Articles
Here's a brief look back at some of the more interesting people and events in the city's history.

Junior Toy Company Company showroom display features the companys products
Machine forms parts for tricycles Here a machine forms lawn chair seats and backs

Photos —– Top Right: Showroom display of the company’s products featuring it’s mainstay velocipede “tricycle” and metal lawn chairs.
Bottom Left: Here a machine forms the arches for the velocipedes or tricycles as they are more commonly known as today.
Bottom Right: Enormous machine forms the metal seats and backs for lawn chairs. Automatic safety guards are in place to protect workers

In its early days during the 1920’s and 1930’s this Hammond concern was known as the And-Way Stamping Company located at 5043 Columbia Avenue. Later the company would be become the Junior Toy Company and would move to expanded quarters at 209-233 Marble Street, the site of the former Enterprise Bed Company.

Junior Toy’s business was affected very little during the Great Depression, in fact it was one of the city’s most fastest growing and prosperous factories. The firm quit the stamping business during the great business decline of the 1930’s and put all of their efforts into the manufacturing of toys. With this they were able to double their sales for 1931 and once again in 1932. Not only did the company double the amount of production, they doubled the sales volume as well.

Hammond’s trademarked Junior Toy products were being shipped to every state in the nation along with parts of Canada. During the hard times of the 1930’s the company was fortunate to give employment to 75 workers, who worked two shifts, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All of this was so Junior Toy could keep up with all of the volume of orders being readied for shipment for the holiday season.

Long before the days of subcontracting and outsourcing, Junior Toy produced every single part necessary for the manufacturing of its products right in the Hammond facility. This was a source of great pride for the company, the employees as well as the city.

In order to prepare for the busy Christmas season, July was normally the start of production for the company’s hallmark product the velocipede.

During the mid to late 1940’s Junior Toy started production of widely popular metal lawn chair. The chairs were designed by John Gordon Rideout of Cleveland, who was famous for his industrial design nationwide. The lawn chairs were available in thirteen different color combination, of which Mr. Rideout also help to suggest. The huge success of this product helped to ensure year round work for plant employees.

The spring of 1951 marked a change of ownership for Junior Toy. The company was acquired and became a subsidiary of the American Machine and Foundry Company or AMF, with headquarters in New York City. Over the years the company pulled up stakes left the city probably in a cost saving effort.

Historical photos courtesy - The Calumet Room of the Hammond Historical Society.
Source information from the microfilms of The Times newspapers at the Hammond Public Library.
Backwards In Time - A Look Back In History © 2000-2001 HammondIndiana.com

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