So Minnesota: Gumby and Pokey toys made in Hastings

Many of us will always remember our favorite toy growing up.

A popular toy that many played with was made in Hastings.

In the 1960s the creators of the Gumby Show wanted to market toys. The contract to make the toys was given to Echo Plastics in Hastings.

"It’s kind of a local item of pride is that for a while we did have Gumby and Pokey in Hastings," Cindy Thury Smith, with the Hastings Pioneer Room, said.

"They had about 45 women that pretty much what they did is painted eyes and lips on Gumbys and Pokeys. They used a thin wire in the limbs and then they used a soft green plastic, which was food-grade safe in case kids chewed on them."

Over the years the company made several million Gumbys and Pokeys until they stopped production in the 1970s.