Tronick Luggage Company, Inc. started manufacturing luggage in Chetek in 1946. Locally, folks called it "Tronick Trunk." Joe Tronick had moved the company from Stanley, WI where it had been located for over 20 years. A few local investors helped establish the company here. Tronick claimed he wanted to move here because he had fished the Chain of Lakes and had grown fond of the area. He probably had unannounced motives for moving the company (like capped out wages or unsolved labor issues) but in Chetek Tronick Luggage got a fresh start.
Plans to move the company were announced in March and by midsummer a building was under construction at 4th and Moore streets, and moving equipment from Stanley had begun. By fall 25 people were hired and production started.
A full-page ad in the Chetek Alert on Sept. 27, 1946 invited townspeople to an open house and product demonstration at the new factory. Soon additional hires brought the workforce up to 50 and the payroll was expected to exceed $100,000 in the first year. That figure reflects a wage of about one dollar per hour, quite a boost for Chetek's small-town economy.
Tronick Luggage was well-known for its steamer trunks, hand luggage and foot lockers but during the 1950's traveling styles were changing. Steamships and railway travel were decreasing and air travel was safe, becoming affordable and fashionable. Airplanes required a whole new concept in luggage. Old time wooden luggage was unsuitable for air travel and a new company called Samsonite was becoming popular. Because the market for traditional trunks was diminishing, Tronick added two innovative designs to his Chetek product line. A fishing tackle box was developed and became known as the Tronick Tackler. A later design for a wooden rifle case was called the Badger Shooting Kit.
After a decade, Joe Tronick left the company and semi-retired. He opened a shoe store and cobbler shop downtown. Tronick Trunks then became Chetek Industries and the production lines hummed along making TV cabinets and stereo phonograph cases for companies like RCA, Motorola, Philco and Zenith. The raw materials: wood, leatherette, oilcloth, glue and staples were much the same as previously used in luggage, but now the workers made a more up-to-date product.
Today, Tronick Tackler tackle boxes are collectible and sought by owners of vintage fishing tackle. They are not exactly rare, but auction prices usually exceed $100 when they occasionally come up for sale. A few are still owned by the old-timers who purchased them years ago in sporting goods stores throughout the Midwest. None probably go fishing anymore because up-to-date tackle boxes are lighter (an empty Tackler weighed eight pounds) and trays that pop up when the lid is raised make them easier to use.
Because the Tackler has a rubber gasket that seals the box when it is closed, the Tackler was advertised as "the tackle box that can save your life." It would float in a capsizing or other emergency and could become a personal flotation device. In those days, personal floatation was not required by law.
The Tronick tackle box on display at the Chetek Area Calhoun Museum was donated by Beverly Robarge of Chetek It was used by her father, Paul Spaete, as he trolled area lakes for game fish. The museum also has some Tronick luggage suitcases on display too.