Kirchhof Patent Company 60-64 Union Street Photos Do you have a photo of this Business? If so please email me.

The Kirchhof Patent Co, was founded about 1865 and was first on 30-32 Stirling Street, then they moved to the Dietze Building at 60-64 Union Street. The company has been in the Kirchhof/Reinhardt/Dietze family from 1865 until Carl H. Dietze Jr. sold it to the Green Duck Company out of Chicago, IL in 1965. They were manufacturers of (first) Christmas tree candle holders, then noisemakers. They were believed to have manufactured the crickets (clickers) used by the soldiers at the landing of Normandy during W.W.II. Kirchhof held some of the first patents for the Christmas tree candle holders, and also held a patent (1867) on the 'return-wheel', which was dropped and later became the yo-yo. According to newspaper and magazine articles, Charles Kirchhof did a lot of work in Newark on the police/fireman alarm systems.