The Brunswick-Holyoke 10-Pin Lanes closed in 1979, all of its equipment being removed by the parent Brunswick Corporation. So what became of the former 44 bowling-lane center? From bowling, billiards, and bridge competitions, we move to the manufacturing of puzzle pieces and games. This is the story of Edaron Inc.
The company was formed in 1976 by two Milton Bradley supervisors, Louis Moretti of Springfield and Edmund Babski of Granby. The Milton Bradley Company permitted the two supervisors to work on their ideas at the factory after completing their work shifts. It proved to be a beneficial start for the business, as they soon rented 5,000 square feet of space in Agawam, MA. The first successful product was a coin board for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
After three years in Agawam, the company moved to the former Norman Paper Building at 1 Appleton Street in Holyoke, providing four times the space the company was renting.
In the early 1980s, the company soon needed more factory space, as it had contracts with Milton Bradley and Parker Brothers for the production of puzzles and games, along with other customers to produce point-of-purchase cardboard displays. Edaron also contracted with Pan American Airways to manufacture a kit for children to help keep them entertained on long flights.
Robert Bateman, the director of the Holyoke Office of Industrial Affairs, showed the layout of the former Brunswick 10-Pin Lanes, which closed in January 1979. He indicated that it would be less expensive to purchase and rehab the pillarless interior than to buy land and construct a new building. Messrs. Moretti and Babski followed the recommendation and moved to 110 Appleton Street in 1981.
Aided by a $450,000 industrial development bond to create the workspace and acquire new equipment, the company initially increased the number of employees from 40 to 55.
In 1983, a University of Arizona student had the idea to produce a game for fraternities, called Greekapoly. Edaron's initial production was 1,000 units for distribution to college book stores.
The company needed more space for storage and leased a portion of the former Atlas Copco plant at 37 Appleton Street. This was a temporary solution as Edaron sought and received a $400,000 low-interest development bond in 1985 to construct a 19,000 square-foot addition to its existing 40,000 square-foot plant at the former bowling center. Employment would increase from 70 to 105 people as a result of this expansion.
Also in 1985, AppleStreet Inc., a sister corporation of Edaron and located within the factory, gained exclusive rights to distribute a new game, Don't Talk to Strangers. Over 50,000 games were produced and distributed to nationally known chain stores, and soon increased to 150,000-lot distributions. More game production followed, and in 1986, Edaron's company sales reached $6 million.
The company was producing toys and games as a subcontractor for Matchbox Toys, Parker Brothers, Milton Bradley, and Mattel. There were fifteen games with thousands of each produced. In 1987, Rubik's Magic was made for Matchbox Toys, and Family Ties, named after the popular television series, was an AppleStreet production.
Expansion continued in 1988, as Edaron was approved for a $1.3 million low-interest development bond. The plans were to add 42,500 square feet to its existing 60,000 square-foot factory and acquire $550,000 in new equipment. Some of the equipment would be used to manufacture parts that were previously purchased from Japan. This would assist the company in lowering its costs to more effectively compete with foreign-manufactured products.
In 1994, the company purchased the former Springfield Photo Mount warehouse for $200,000, and this provided an additional 200,000 square feet of storage.
Games such as Trash for Cash, the brainchild of David Duseau of locally-owned Duseau Waste Industries, Winning Moves, 25 Words or Less, and other board games continued to propel the success of Edaron and AppleStreet into the 1990s.
In 1997, Edaron acquired 74,000 square feet of space at 333 North Canal Street from the Holyoke Economic Development and Industrial Corp. The building, previously owned by Marox, would be used as Edaron's distribution center. The company planned to add 40 new jobs.
In 2020, Edaron was sold to Buffalo (N.Y.) Games & Puzzles sought to increase its footprint in the toy, puzzle, and children's books field. The company was the most prominent puzzle manufacturer in the U.S. At the end of March 2025, the South Hadley warehouse was closed, and on June 30, 2025, the central plant at 100-110 Appleton Street was shuttered. At the time, a total of 77 jobs were lost.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican; Hartford (Connecticut) Courant; East Haven (Connecticut) Courier; Buffalo (New York) News; Merced (California) Sun-Star; publication dates and pages are shown.
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