We have to go by hearsay for a large part of our information on the early history of our Company. However, we do know that it was started by Charles A. Gee, a Cuba, New York hardware merchant, and we have had the following from the man who was Gee's tinsmith at the time.

Sometime in 1901, Charles Gee decided to take a day off from the store and go fishing. He asked his tinsmith if he could make some sort of trap to catch minnows; apparently Gee did not have the time to go seine his bait minnows, the method by which minnows were commonly caught at this time.

The tinsmith went to work and came up with a long, round device with 2 cone entrances, one on each end. This worked so well that Gee had his man make up a dozen more, and put a trap in the store window to see if it would sell. The traps sold out so fast that the two men, realizing they had something good, went to work to redesign the trap for easier production and packaging. The result was two bucket-shaped halves, which nest together for convenience in shipping and storage.

Mr. Gee obtained a patent in 1903, and began the manufacture and sale of the "Gee's Wire Minnow Trap". His company was known as the C.A. Gee Manufacturing Company. We do not know just when the name was changed to Cuba Specialty. Sales were to jobbers and wholesalers, and to the two major mail order companies.

The original trap was made with a sort of Bayonet-lock arrangement for fastening the two halves together, and much confusion and annoyance were caused by the fact that the two halves were different from each other. Consequently, the trap was redesigned and re-patented in 1905, and the name of the product changed to the "Gee's Improved Wire Minnow Trap".

Mr. Gee soon became interested in one of the earliest (perhaps the earliest) of the Florida real estate booms, and to raise money for his investments he put both the hardware store and the minnow trap business on the market. The hardware store was purchased by Gee's tinsmith (we do not have his name), and Cuba Specialty was bought by Michael Loftis. We have been told Mr. Loftis was the first Mayor (President?) of Cuba, New York. He was killed in an automobile accident in Olean, New York within a few years, and the company was purchased from his widow by Michael's brother, Peter B. Loftis, of Houghton, New York. The business moved to Houghton around 1912. Peter Loftis died suddenly in 1938, and the company was then operated by A.B. Taylor, who was Peter Loftis' son-in-law.

In 1970, the Houghton factory having become too small for the expanding business, manufacturing operations were moved to a new facility in Fillmore, New York. The offices remained in Houghton for several years. 

In July of 1980, Mr. Taylor sold the business to Dana R. Pickup, who succeeded him as President and General Manager. Mr. Pickup moved the offices from Houghton into the Fillmore plant in the fall of 1980.

In October of 1987, the company purchased the assets of the Issac Franklin Company in Baltimore, Maryland and moved them to the Fillmore plant. Concurrently, the offices were relocated to 48 West Main Street in Fillmore to provide more room for the new company. The Issac Franklin Company manufactured the leading crab trap used on the East Coast, the "Foxy Mate," and another popular model, the "Franklin" crab trap. The line also included various crab nets, and landing nets.

In the summer of 1990 a new, peaked roof was put on the plant. This roof not only solved the problem of an old and leaky flat roof, but also gave the company several thousand more square feet of storage and potential office space.

In the fall of 1990, the company entered into an arrangement with Bead Tackle, Inc. of Monroe, Connecticut, to manufacture, package, and ship its line of fishing lures, lead weights, rod tubes, and telescopic fishing rods. Bead Tackle's equipment was installed in the Fillmore plant and Cuba Specialty began supplying labor and facilities to Bead.

In the fall of 1991 the company expanded the Fillmore plant by adding 3750 square feet of warehouse space, pallet racking, and an expanded and blacktop parking area. The new additions have enabled the Company to handle its merchandise much more efficiently.

The end of 1993 saw Cuba Specialty increase its product line yet again. The "Lineminder", "Big Norm's Fish Scaler", and the "Spoolmate" became Cuba Specialty merchandise. The line was acquired from Red Eye Tackle/Scotch Game Call of Elba, New York and has become a very successful venture.

In 1995, the Company added the "Pop-Up Crab Trap" to its product line. This new, innovative design incorporates a spring-loaded door, and a flotation ring that rises to the surface when the trap is sprung.

In the fall of 1999 a company formed by Mr. Pickup purchased the assets of Bead Tackle. In May 2000 the Bridgeport and Bead product lines were sold by this company to another fishing tackle company and the Depth-O-Plug and Rod Caddy lines were transferred to Cuba Specialty Mfg. Co.

In December 2000 the offices where again relocated to the plant facility since space was now available with the departure of the Bead Tackle products.

Cuba Specialty's products are not limited to the fishing tackle industry. In recent years, the Company has been making a variation of the minnow trap, called the "Gee-Z Parts Washer Basket," which has been enthusiastically accepted by the automotive rebuilding industry and various other industrial sectors. In the last several years significant marketing resources have been devoted to this new product line resulting in consistent growth over the last several years. The product line now consists of four different models and a network of catalogers, distributors and manufacturers reps is continuing to grow. This product line shows great promise in the next several years.

 Cuba Specialty's fishing tackle products are marketed under the Tackle Factory name. Products include the ever popular "Gee's Improved Wire Minnow Trap" (also used as a reptile trap), the "Foxy Mate" and "Franklin" crab traps, crawfish traps, eel pots, crab and landing nets, the "Lineminder", "Big Norm's Magic Fish Scaler", "Depth-O-Plug" and the "Rod Caddy" line of rod cases. The parts washer baskets are marketed under the Cuba Specialty name.

 Tackle Factory sells to North American and Canadian wholesale jobbers, wholesale distributors, and catalog companies, as well as to several mass retailers. Over the years the market has expanded to several overseas countries in Europe, the Middle East, and the South Pacific. Cuba Specialty’s parts washer baskets are sold primarily to the North American industrial trade only through direct sales and through several distributors and catalogers.