Lazy Ike Corporation

• 1897 - Joseph Kautzky starts a small gun shop in Fort Dodge, Iowa.  This was the beginning of what would later become Kautzky Sporting Goods.
• 1912 - Joseph Kautzky decides to expand store to sell Sporting Goods as well.²
• 1919 - Kautzky Sporting Goods moves to 522 Central Ave., Fort Dodge, Iowa.²
• 1938 - The believed date when Joseph Kautzky Jr. first saw that "lazy ike" on the Des Moines River being fished by Newell Daniels.
• 1940 - Newell Daniels leaves the Kautzky Company and turns over the rights.
• 1945 - Approximate date of the beginning of lathe production
• 1945 - A second building was purchased at 510 Central Ave. near the main store.  Boats, motors, engines, marines supplies, etc. are sold and serviced there.²
• 1947 - 60,000 Lazy Ikes produced¹
• 1948 - 75,000 Lazy Ikes produced²
• 1949 - 600,000 Lazy Ikes produced²
• 1953 - 900,000 Lazy Ikes produced²
• 1954 - 11 "cutting machines" / lathes, 60 workers in lure production and another 15 in the sporting good store²
• 1956 - On December 8th a fire completely destroyed Kautzky Sporting Goods.  To this day charred Lazy Ikes that remain are collected and displayed as "Fire Ikes".
• 1957 - November 18th-23rd was the Grand Opening of the New Kautzky Sporting Goods at 510 Central Ave in Fort Dodge, Iowa.  The new store is over 7,500 square feet far surpassing the 2,820 square feet of the previous store.  After sixty years, Kautzky Sporting Goods remains in a fixture in town.
• 1961 - August 28th - announced sale of the Kautzky Lazy Ike Corp. to the newly-organized West Des Moines firm known as Lazy Ike Corp.  Company will continue operations without change in operations at Fort Dodge. 
• 1962 - Lazy Ike was awarded one of "Fishing's Deadly Dozen" by Popular Mechanics magazine.  See the award presented to Kautzky here.  (Thanks to Bruce Engler for use of this photo.  His father Jack worked at Kautzky's and saved this plaque from the trash when Kautzky's was sold!  Thank you Jack for saving a big piece of history!)
• 1978 - Lazy Ike Corporation purchases Creek Chub Bait Company out of Garrett, Indiana.
• 1979 - September 11th - Lazy Ike Corp files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.³ They will continue to operate under the terms of the bankruptcy agreement until being acquired by Dura-Pak.
• 1981 - September 30th -  Announcement that Dura-Pak Corporation out of South Sioux City, Nebraska has acquired Lazy Ike Corporation and will now become the producer of the famous Lazy Ike fishing lures.⁴
• 1988 - The Great American Fishing Supply Company is formed in January as a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal American Trading Company.  In March it acquires the assets of Dura-Pak Corporation thus becoming the new owner of Lazy Ike.  Operations continue in Sioux City.⁵ ⁶
• 1991 - PRADCO purchases the rights to Lazy Ike and Creek Chub.  Not sure of the exact date.

Sources:

1:  1954, December 7th: Des Moines Register

2:  1954, June 6th: Des Moines Register

3:  1979, September 11th: Des Moines Register

4:  1981, October 1st: Des Moines Register

5:  1988, March 7th:  Des Moines Register

6:  1988, March 27th:  Sioux City, Iowa Journal

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