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Minnesota Lures
St Cloud
The City of St. Cloud was incorporated in 1856. It developed from three distinct settlements, known as Upper Town, Middle Town, and Lower Town. The remnants of the deep ravines that separated the three are still visible today. Middle Town was settled primarily by Catholic German-Americans, Lower Town was founded by settlers from New England states. Upper Town, or Arcadia, was plotted by General Sylvanus Lowry, a slave-holding Southerner from Kentucky. Lowry was St. Cloud's first mayor, serving only one year.
St. Cloud's experience with slavery was brief. Nearly all of the Southerners left the St. Cloud area when the Civil War broke out. Lowry died soon after in 1865.
St. Cloud was named after Saint-Cloud, the Paris suburb, by John Wilson. Wilson later said that his decision came from his interest in Napoleon.
Steamboats once docked at St. Cloud, although river levels were not reliable. Granite quarries have operated in the area since the 1880s, giving St. Cloud its nickname, "The Granite City."
In 1917, Samuel Pandolfo started the Pan Motor Company in St. Cloud. Pandolfo claimed that St. Cloud would become the new Detroit for all the Pan-Cars produced. He was later convicted and imprisoned for attempting to defraud investors.
Courtroom scenes in the Disney Film The Mighty Ducks were filmed in St. Cloud.
Shad-Quack and Jennings Decoy Co (a division of Gavian Corp)
This lure was developed when Virgil Waterwacker say a giant fish engulf a full grown mallard on the Mississippi River...or so the story goes.
This lure was available in Loon or Mallard Drake colors.
This lure was invented by John, who then sold his lure to a large lure manufacturer.
It was patented in 1904 and the lure was called the "Sizzler". The lure was weedless and the fish needed to bite the lure to expose the hooks.
The patent date is listed on these lures and they were available in 3 sizes.
John Hedlund (design sold to Hastings Sporting Goods / Wilson)
Frank Baker had one of the first fishing lure/hook patents issued in Minnesota. His single weedless hook design was patented in 1905.
At first, these hooks were sold under the “New Becker” name, then it was sold many years later through the Brainerd Bait Co of St. Paul, MN. Some of these hooks are found with built-in weights and some were even sold with attached spinners.
It seems like a simple design now, but at the time it was revolutionary.
Frank J. Baker
Fred and Hiram Harrington
These hand painted baits were patented in 1932.
The lures had many colorful designs that make them very attractive to collectors.
