HISTORIC REFLECTION … The last day of production occurred at the Strydel, Inc., plant in Stryker. Strydel was founded by Dr. Henry Kroeze, who emigrated from the Netherlands in 1953. In 1956, Dr. Kroeze and his wife Elizabeth started a company with one compres-sion molding press in a two-car garage in Waldron, Mich. The Kroezes soon began producing Etch A Sketch parts, dart stems and dart pistols for the Ohio Art Company in Bryan. In December 1962, Ohio Art and the Stryker Development Cor-poration convinced the Kroezes to relocate their operation to Stryker. The company’s new name, “Strydel,” was a contrac-tion of “Stryker Development.” A 25,600-square-foot building was constructed on Ellis Street at the north edge of Stryker. Strydel commenced its Stryker operations about June 1, 1963, with 40 employees. On November 24, 2004, Ohio Art an-nounced the sale of its Strydel Diversified Products Division to May & Scofield LLC of Fowlerville, Mich., an automotive parts supplier. May & Scofield ceased production at the former Strydel plant on March 24, 2005, for undisclosed reasons and closed the facility on April 1. At the time of closing, the plant employed 49 people. This October 1983 photograph of Strydel is from the Williams County Public Library Huffman Photographic Archives.
