Radio Flyer’s corporate headquarters is, remarkably, still essentially in the same location today—although all manufacturing has unsurprisingly moved to China. It also can’t be overstated how much I absolutely love the “no drop” technology razor ride ons of the pull handle that keeps it upright and makes it so the pull handle never touches the ground. Even if you simply drop the pull handle without warning, it just springs back up, out of the way and ready to grab if you need it.
It’s not easy nowadays to pick a gift that kids will love as much as their parents do. Low-tech toys that spark creativity and imaginative play are the answer. And nothing fits the bill like Radio Flyer’s iconic red wagon. But no one remains on top forever, and when Little Tykes and Step2 introduced plastic wagons in the early 1990s, Radio Flyer faltered.
Starlight plays an integral role in the partnership, ultimately connecting Radio Flyer with the patients. Starlight Radio Flyer Wagons 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.
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.
Pasin worked tirelessly and alone until 1923, when his wagon business had picked up enough that he was able to hire helpers. He incorporated his business as the Liberty Coaster Wagon Company, fondly naming it after the Statue of Liberty that had greeted him when he arrived in his new country. These wagons razor ride ons are a departure from the classic all-steel bodied wagons Radio Flyer made famous. Instead of steel bodies that sit up high, plastic wagon bodies sit down low. Instead of the flat floor you find on a metal wagon, you get molded-in seats, deep footwells and high seat backs for kids’ riding comfort.
He called his new wagon the “Radio Flyer,” another patriotic reference to his homeland, this one after a famous Italian invention, the radio. Intended “for every girl and boy,” the wagons sold for less than $3 each. Even in the depths of the Great Depression, they sold at the rate of 1,500 a day. The group began exploring ways to push their company into the 21st century.
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.