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Turn the Way Back Machine to 1958 when a La Conner company was one of the largest manufacturers of stylish fiberglass boats on the West Coast.

It was also a year, like so many others, that had been ushered in on television by famed bandleader Guy Lombardo, whose rendition of “Auld Lang Syne” signaled for millions the official turn of the calendar.

And, coincidentally, 1958 was the year that Lombardo – also known for orchestrating excitement on the speedboat racing circuit – joined the chorus of praise for Skagit Plastics, which was then churning out several lines of recreational and commercial craft from its facility along the Swinomish Channel.

About to enter its two biggest years of production, Skagit Plastics in 1958 licensed production rights to some of its more innovative designs to a firm affiliated with Lombardo, who had made quite a splash as a successful hydroplane driver and owner.

Lombardo and his Royal Canadians were noted for making the “Sweetest music this side of Heaven,” yet the popular entertainer was equally at home in the noisy world of boat racing.

And, as with his career in music – the Royal Canadians sold well in excess of 100 million records – he was good at it.

Lombardo was the reigning U.S. national speedboat racing champion from 1946-49, his signature victories coming in the 1946 Gold Cup and 1948 Ford Memorial.

He would go on to claim the 1952 President’s Cup and Silver Cup titles, among Lombardo’s 15 unlimited class triumphs over a seven-year span.

There was one brush with death, however.

During the 1948 Gold Cup Lombardo flipped his boat at 125 mph, somehow managing to escape with just a broken arm. Still, it meant that the Royal Canadians had a bandleader who wore a sling for several weeks.

By 1958, Lombardo had eased out of the cockpit. He moved on to endorse the Guy Lombardo Fleet, a line of fiberglass boats built on the East Coast but manufactured under license from Skagit Plastics.

The La Conner-based venture was at that point on the verge of producing five boats per week, from small fishing vessels and sporty runabouts to hardtop sedans and 30-foot cruisers, according to Bill Alley, who in 2005 chronicled the company’s brief history.

Dunlap Towing ownership is credited in the Alley account with having recruited chief designer and production manager Howard Roberts from Bellingham in the mid-1950s to launch Skagit Plastics as a local hub of the emerging fiberglass boat market.

La Conner immediately became one of the leading maritime plastic centers in the Puget Sound region. Skagit Plastics soon supplemented its sleek product lines with widespread marketing. Its boats were promoted in slick glossy brochures and featured in numerous newspaper and magazine articles.

A pictorial essay from the 1950s shows Don Sanford piloting a new cruiser with his young son and daughter, Jim and Jennifer, seated alongside. Another photo from the piece focuses on Dennis Church tightening a bow line.

Skagit Plastics continued making an impact within the industry until it ceased operations in 1961, following a year in which the company produced 250 boats. Its main plant near the Rainbow Bridge was later destroyed by fire.

“You know, they even built a tugboat,” Tom Zimmerman, who skippers Dunlap Towing’s Rosario, said of Skagit Plastics prior to a 50-year time capsule opening ceremony at Skagit County Historical Museum earlier this month.

Sure enough, the unique 29-foot plastic hull tug was highlighted in a La Conner Chamber of Commerce booklet published in 1957.

Among those who took notice then of Skagit Plastics was one of the most famous men in North America.

Guy Lombardo, though retired as a driver, had not veered from the boating life. He served as Honorary Chairman of the President’s Cup and introduced Bernie Little, who would become legendary owner of the Miss Budweiser, to hydroplane racing.

Just prior to his death in 1977, Lombardo was presented the J. Lee Schoenith Award in recognition of his contributions to hydroplane racing.

He continues to live in spirit, of course, on New Year’s Eve.

“Auld Lang Syne,” the song for which Lombardo and his band are best known, remains the first tune of the year sung in New York City’s Times Square.