Tonka Toys: How a garden tools company started an toy empire

They are some of the most recognizable products to come from Minnesota: Tonka Toys. They are known and loved around the world. Maury Glover shows us how a company that was supposed to make garden tools ended up turning tiny trucks into big business.
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[@RDAmidwest]

One of The Toys That Built America. Literally! History Channel had a wonderful episode that included Tonka, start to finish. I highly recommend it.😊

[@tsunamiiwinterz-px7oz]

One of my favorite toys, and man were Tonka trucks built tough back then

[@travisminneapolis]

So cool to see and hear these stories.

[@2A3A66]

As I watch this, I look above me at the top shelf of my computer desk and there sits two of my nicely restored Tonka Trucks. These were rescues and both are '58's one being a pickup and the other a farm truck. We loved these toys as kids getting many hours of use out of them.

[@ChristopherErickson-o8c]

Brings back suck great memories from the sand box!!

[@MilePost106]

I had 3 rooms full of vintage Tonkas, Buddy L, Nylint. Plus 2 sheds full of American made toys from years ago. Should have had the news come look at that but I auctioned everything off.

[@davydigger708]

I have a mid-80's Mighty Backhoe, and it's awesome! I'm 20 and sometimes I still take it for a spin out in the dirt! It's so strong you can actually tear through hard, packed dirt and clay with it, as well as break roots and uproot plants! Find me a toy excavator today that you can do that with! Unfortunately, it's a Texas-produced one, not a Minnesota-made one, but hey, at least it's technically still made in 'Merica! The newer ones are made in China by Basic Fun now.

[@tsaffran]

A toy empire c'mon say it again A toy empire

[@roberthepburn-gr4fq]

When I was 6 I owned every Tonka truck and construction truck I bought every one myself with my own money, I was born and raised in the carnival business and my dad owned a side show it was one of the biggest ones and I would work for my dad, I got my head chopped off 3x a day and sat in the electric chair 3x a day and my dad paid me just like a regular employee doing the same job so when we got to the southern route we were in Spartanburg SC I think well the house trailers were backed in by the back of the fairgrounds and on the other side of the fence were poor black families and while playing by the fence I met another kid and we hung out for a few days until we had to tear down and go to the next fair before mom packed up the trailer I gave my trucks to the kids behind me because they didn't have any toys, My dad was mad at first but he said he was proud of what I did

[@OgaugeTrainsplusslotCars]

Iam 52 I had a Tonka

[@Twiz_E]

Yeat helped

[@ILLRICARDO]

I hate tonka, they are the reason the mighty orbots got cancelled.

[@douglassandstrom6314]

All the metal stamping was done at HUB MFG my father was the foreman when the work went south of the border guys lost there jobs