“We make more money than the U. S. Mint." - Robert R. Ehrlich, President and owner. That was part of the story of the Tracies Company's success, a Holyoke toy maker that operated for most of the second half of the 20th century.
The Tracies Company was formed in 1949 by 1929 Harvard College graduate Robert R. Ehrlich. Mr. Ehrlich also graduated from Harvard Business School in 1931. He had previously been employed by the U.S. Government as head of investigations for the Office of Price Administration during the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration.
Tracies was initially located at 541 Main Street. The company possibly made more money than the U. S. Mint, as one of its principal products was paper “play money.” Tracies also produced aluminum coins with its stamping machinery.
In addition to being a toy manufacturer, the company’s main line of work was producing vinyl products. Some examples of its items included tool cases, telephone book covers, ring binders and protective boots.
In 1958, the company made its first attempt to secure a government contract and was successful. The government awarded a $10,000 contract to supply plastic envelopes to the Post Office Department.
In 1961, other companies leasing space at the Main Street site included Holyoke Die Cut Card Company and National Felt Company.
The company made national news when an article appeared in the very popular Life magazine in 1961. In collaboration with the Clinton Precision Company at 386 Dwight Street, Tracies Company manufactured a suit entirely made of plastic. The suit was sold as a one-size-fits-all and retailed at $21.95, and 1,000 had been ordered.
Now you may wonder, as I did, what purpose the plastic suit served. Well, it was called a Fallout Suit, and purported to enable the user to leave a fallout shelter for up to a couple of hours after a nuclear blast. Its use would depend on measuring radioactivity and ensuring a result that fell below the danger threshold. The user would breathe the air in the suit, and it was susceptible to heat buildup. CO2 levels in the suit were measured and remained constant for about 2 hours. The local Civil Defense authorities thought such a suit would be useful, as a fallout shelter could not depend on bringing in outside air.
In 1961, Norman S. Stahl partnered with Robert Ehrlich in operating the company. The company was reported to be producing about 1,000 toys, games and plastic items. Some have been mentioned, and other popular items were children’s vinyl plastic purses and wallets, small tool cases, pads and calendar holders. There were games, including Stick Em Strips and The Word Chain Game.
Tracies also produced plastic clothing worn by industrial workers, such as suits for spray-painting vehicles. The Electric Boat Company of Groton, Connecticut, ordered yellow plastic boots to identify radiation workers.
In 1964, the company incorporated under Ehrlich Manufacturing Co., Inc., dba Tracies.
In May 1973, the company relocated to the Holyoke Gas & Electric’s Crocker Mill at 102 Cabot Street. The company signed a 12-year lease at $25,000 per year for 40,000 square feet of space. It anticipated increasing its workforce to 75 employees.
The company continued its plastic products production and added silk screening as a new source of revenue. Its final corporate report was filed with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in May 1998.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; publication dates and pages are shown.
Ancestry.com (paid subscription): Price & Lee Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directories
Secretary of State, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts
