With Kaleva just up the road, it was inevitable that I would collect Makinen Lures.  

The Makinen Tackle Company was started in 1940 by William Makinen, along with 3 employees, was making lures in his garage and painting them in the basement of his Kaleva home.  By 1946 they were in a 34 x 200 building with over 100 employees.

In 1947 the Heddon Lure Company contracted with Makinen to finish most of their wood and plastic lures.  Heddon sent the bodies to Makinen, who in turn painted, attached the hardware and boxed the lures.  In addition to the amount agreed on for payment, Heddon also agreed to pay Makinen a $5,000 bonus for every 100,000 lures they finished.    By late 1951 Makinen had made over two million lures for Heddon.  When Heddon realized how much bonus money they were paying out, they bought the company.