Tonka Toys haven’t currently achieved the final stage of this process, while there are signs that they will soon. Until they do, though, we will be required to be satisfied with the slightly worn vintage Tonka trucks located in closets or garage sales, or accept their mainly plastic contemporary counterparts. It may be useful to take a look at the roots of this once-mighty company, however, merely to see where those wonderful trucks came from and how they may very well be able to bring back their past glory.
Tonka Toys started out in life as a business identified as Mound Metalcraft which opened it’s doors in Mound, Minnesota in 1946. Because a different company which had formerly been in the building had failed to profit in an attempt to market two metal toys, Mound Metalcraft’s three founders agreed that toys may become a worthwhile sideline to Mound’s other, more realistic garden tool merchandise. The old toy design was changed and the trucks were labeled “Tonka”, a Dakota-Sioux word meaning “great” or “huge”. Another great alternative is the Sony HTCT100 Sound Bar.