Historic memories of Fillmore County Here is another historic advertisement for The Lazy Dazy Bait Company in Preston

By Dianne Ruud

Today we are looking at the second advertisement for The Lazy Dazy Bait Company that was once a thriving business in Preston. This cool ad is done in green and white and makes use of every inch of the sheet to put the word out for the merits of the Lazy Dazy Lures.

Bold, black letters state: “LAZY DAZY” is the “SUCCESSOR TO NATURE’S MINNOW” and that it, “REALLY GETS ‘EM.” The other three descriptive phrases promise the following: #1 – “FINISH WILL NOT CRACK OR PEEL,” #2 – “MOLDED OF TOUGH LIGHT-WEIGHT PLASTIC,” and # 3 – “HOOKS WILL NOT PULL OUT.”

The paragraph above the listing for the 17 lures explains: “NATURAL LIFE-LIKE ACTION” has meant record catches everywhere. Complete line for trolling, casting, spinning and fly rod.”

The yellow, green, and white box that the Lazy Dazy lures were packed in had a clear plastic cover with these words clearly printed on them, “Preston, Minnesota.” Have you been lucky enough to snag one of these neat, old lures? I certainly do hope so!

A few years ago I had the pleasure of chatting with Ila Mae Olstad who told me that in 1949 she was employed at the Lazy Dazy Bait Company. She named others who she worked with and they were: Helen Nelson (wife of the owner), Helen’s parents, Ann Ellingson (wife of the other owner), and Anna Marie Roche.

Ila said the lures were formed in molds, with the plastic being poured into each half and then the two pieces were attached to each other. She said the factory used a type of air-painting procedure, a process that was in practice prior to screen painting. Her job was to “hand paint” small details on each lure. She said they were beautiful lures and that it was a very fun job!

The factory was located, as I mentioned in last week’s column, above the stores along Fillmore Street, on the north side of Preston’s downtown square. Ila said during the summer months it was very, very warm up there. So when it was time for a break, the workers would walk over to Kerr’s Ice Cream Parlor, and enjoy a cold glass of lemonade or a dish of delicious ice cream!

Next week we’ll take a look at the orange and white, third and last, advertisement for the phenomenal Lazy Dazy Bait Company, so please, stay tuned!