By The Letter

It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that string. Say what you will about today's toy-toting kids--they know the value of tradition. Want proof? Yo-yos are back in demand.

As president of the American Yo-Yo Association, John Stangle isn't surprised. "One of the big things about yo-yos is that it's a virus," he enthuses. "I've seen whole towns take off [with it]."

Stangle's observations jibe with the sales of major yo-yo manufacturer Duncan Toys Co. in Middlefield, Ohio. In the past three years, the company's yo-yo sales have risen more than 30 percent each year. Similarly, the American Yo-Yo Association has seen its membership expand. "I don't know what the limit is," says Stangle. "Hopefully, we won't find one."

Although more than a few nostalgic parents have the yo-yo virus, Stangle still considers kids between the ages of 7 and 14 the prime players--or, rather, the most stricken. But do perennial yo-yo tricks such as The Gravity Pull and Walk The Dog still pull at the strings of this new generation of yo-yo fans? Yes, we hear they do. As we said, these kids know the value of tradition.

This article was originally published in the October 1997 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: By The Letter.