October 2016
The Flexible “Slip-On” Shield
B&B Sales-Mfg Company
Wayzata, MN
1960s
If you haven’t noticed, many of my “Lure Of The Month” baits are educational…and many are me searching for more information.
There are tons of spinners on cards made or sold in Minnesota. Many of them I have no information about. Since I know nothing about this live minnow bait and am just “fishing” for information…I will tell you a little fishing history about the town this was made in as Wayzata is known for its boat builders of the past rather than fishing lures.
Wayzata was a perfect area to start a boat building business. It was close to a huge and popular lake, timber was readily available, and the Great Northern Railway had tracks nearby to deliver supplies and people to the builder.
A man named Royal Moore moved to Wayzata in 1879. There he started a boat building business making row boats and sail boats. His boats were well made, and he was joined by Gustavus Johnson in 1886 to create Johnson and Moore Boat Works. The business did well, although there was many challenges. One of the biggest was a fire in 1902 that burned his entire business to the ground. He lost everything including patterns, plans, customer boats, and all of his tools and materials. But, unbelievably, he was back up and running his business in 5 months.
Moore expanded and made street car boats and the most famous ones were named Minnehaha, Harriet, Stillwater, Hopkins and Whitebear. These boats delivered people visited the lake from the railway all over the lake.
Since then, the business name has changed several times to Remaley Boat Co (1912) and then Minnetonka Boatworks (1929).
More boat building competition in Wayzata appeared in 1922 as Wayzata Boat Building Company opened its doors nearby.
Boats were a primary source of relaxation and transportation around Lake Minnetonka, which was a huge tourist attraction. However, when automobiles became more popular, there was little need to take the train and boats around the lake. And, wooden boats were also going out of favor as lighter metal boats were gaining in popularity. This led to the demise of the two boat builders.
Both buildings still stand by the lake and last I heard they were restaurants and places to visit. Maybe I will have to visit this area in the near future.
Oh, and while on Lake Minnetonka this last summer…the fully restored street car boat, the Minnehaha, glided past our boat!
