Antonio Pasin started building wooden toy wagons in Chicago in 1917, selling them to area shops. He was working as a craftsman at the time, mostly selling phonograph cabinets, and built small wooden wagons to carry around his tools. After he received numerous requests from customers of phonograph cabinets to buy the wagons as well, he refocused his business on the wagons. His business grew until the Liberty Coaster Company, named in honour of the Statue of Liberty, was formed in 1923.
Working in Chicago as a manual laborer, Pasin bought used woodworking equipment and set up shop in a rented room. Building little red wagons at night and peddling them during the day, he saved enough money to found the Liberty Coaster Company in 1923, naming it after the statue he had admired in New York Harbor. In 1930, he began mass-producing the toys out of stamped metal.
The Radio Flyer Ranger wagon has a full-sized seamless all-steel body with no-scratch edges and a seat back for comfortable rides. This wagon includes a child seat belt, and extra long handle for easy pulling and durable molded wheels. Radio Flyer has one of those incredible rags-to-riches stories attached. The Chicago-based company, known for its iconic little red wagons, was launched by a young frozen ride on toy Italian immigrant named Antonio Pasin, who came to Chicago practically penniless in 1914. A cabinetmaker who had trouble getting work in that field, Pasin dug ditches, washed vegetables, and took whatever work he could find, carrying his tools in a wooden wagon of his own design. After the war, the factory went back to making wagons and developed several new models in tune with the times.
Soon, the Liberty Coaster MFG Co. was also producing tricycles, scooters and other kid vehicles—a tiny fraction of which have stood the test of time. Now that our kiddos are older and we’ve transitioned to “sports parents”, the stroller wagon is the perfect fit for our family. It can still go from farmer’s markets and park dates with us, but it can also hold a ton of gear, and then become a bench seat when we get there.
Now they are donating 1,000 every year to children’s hospitals across the country, including Carilion Children’s Hospital. America’s Got Talent star Jackie Evancho reveals that yearslong battle with anorexia has left her with bone damage. In an interview with People, the season 5 alum shared that her battle with anorexia has left her with osteoporosis, which causes bones to become weak and prone to fractures.
All-terrain s have bigger wheels and tires. The tires are air filled and have more rugged treads for use on grass, dirt, gravel and sand. The side rails of these Radio Flyer wagons are 50% deeper to hold more inside and the carrying capacities are upped to 200 pounds. In the all-terrain category, Radio Flyer also makes cargo wagons.
The Radio Flyer and Starlight teams collectively poured more than 1,000 hours into the charitable project, estimates Mark Johnson, vice president of product development for Radio Flyer. The Hero Wagon is now in hospitals in 82 cities across 33 U.S. states and counting–each year, the organizations donate 1,000 wagons, with half going to medically underserved communities. The readily recognizable little red wagon manufactured by Radio Flyer is used in several artistic works, including film and television. A character in the 1992 drama film Radio Flyer flies to safety in a converted Radio Flyer wagon. Radio Flyer wagons appear in a store display in the 1983 film A Christmas Story.
The classic red Radio Flyer wagon had already been in use in hospitals for more than 20 years. But this year, the company will launch a patented, upgraded version specifically designed for ferrying sick kids. In 1933, Chicago was the host of the World’s Fair, Century of Progress, and Radio Steel was asked to be a part of the celebration. Antonio Pasin took on major debt to fund the construction of a 45-foot tall wood and plaster Coaster Boy statue depicting a boy riding a Liberty Coaster wagon. Below the Coaster Boy exhibit Pasin sold miniatures for 25 cents. During World War II, steel was essential war material; from 1942–1945, the company shifted production to portable five gallon Blitz cans for the US Army.
Starlight plays an integral role in the partnership, ultimately connecting Radio Flyer with the patients. Starlight frozen ride on toys distributed to hospitals across the country and played an integral part of a child’s pediatric care. Doctors, nurses, child life specialists and caregivers across the US rely on these wagons every day as an integral part of a child’s pediatric care.