We found this really nice write-up about the history of Pedro Flores on the local Coschocton Tribune website. Flores is buried in Coshocton, Ohio, where his wife, Edria Beatrice Myers Walters Flores Bainter, was born.
Here’s an excerpt from the article:
Someday, when you have nothing more important to do, take a walk through South Lawn Cemetery here and look for Section K, Lot 2.
There you’ll find Pedro Edralin Flores, owner of the first yo-yo manufacturing company in the U.S. Flores was responsible for leading this child’s toy, popularized in the states in the 1920s, to worldwide popularity.
According to the American Yo-Yo Association’s Hall of Fame, Flores is the father of the modern yo-yo. And according to Lucky Meisenheimer, author of “Lucky’s Collectors Guide to 20th Century Yo-Yos,” Flores contributed three important events in the yo-yo industry.
First, he popularized the toy, that is believed to have originated in China about 1000 B.C. Pictures of yo-yos have been found in Greece as well as in Asia as far back as about 2500 B.C.
Second, Flores modified the yo-yo so the string looped around the axle instead of being attached to it, allowing the yo-yo to spin. Third, the invention led to creative tricks and games, and that in turn led to yo-yo contests and events scheduled across the country. The popularity reached its peak worldwide in the 1960s.
Click below for the full article: