Slinky was invented in Clifton Heights, but it was manufactured for decades in a factory outside Altoona, Pennsylvania—until the factory closed earlier this year, writes Alaina Johns for keystoneedge.com.

Now the Slinky is back on the assembly line at the Hollidaysburg factory.

Global toy company Just Play, based in Pennsylvania, has acquired the operation.

“Every Slinky in the world is made there,” says Matt Fox, director of business expansion at Altoona Blair County Development Corporation.

Navy mechanical engineer Richard James invented the Slinky in 1943 — trying to create springs that could hold items tight aboard moving ships.  

He dropped the coiled wires and watched them tumble across the floor, according to Smithsonianmag.com.

He and his wife, Betty, teamed up to develop the Slinky, forming James Industries, headquartered in Clifton Heights.

Richard abandoned Betty to join a cult in Bolivia after sales slumped in 1960. 

Betty moved the operation to Altoona, where she was born, and opened the factory.

Slinkys have been made in the Hollidaysburg factory since 1964.

 “It’s not just turning the lights on,” says Fox of firing up the Slinky production line. “There’s definitely pride here,” he says.

Read more about the resurrection of the Slinky factory at keystoneedge.com.