Radio Flyer, company behind iconic red wagons, celebrates 100 years

A component of the promotional fishing duck also contains a level of lead that exceeds the federal lead content standard. Phthalates and lead are toxic if ingested by young children and can cause adverse health issues. Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled wagons and contact Radio Flyer for a full refund. In an Instagram video posted Wednesday, the pregnant mom of six shared hateful comments she received on social media. Our Host Will Taylor is apartment hunting with Mia, who wants to find a space in Upper Manhattan that both she and her daughters will love. Kim Kardashian solidified her relationship with Balenciaga as she appeared on the runway for the brand’s couture fashion show in Paris.

radio flyer wagon

Radio Flyer wagons are all-terrain wagons that are built to handle adventures both on and off-road. The stroller wagon lets you take your little ones to any outing whether it is to the park, beach or any sporting event. The all-wheel wagon is easy to maneuver, swivel front wheels allow you to turn and pivot, and you can push or pull the wagon with the two adjustable handlebars. Most wagons come with a built-in UV protection canopy and roll-down shades for sun protection and privacy.

Robert has helped the company dramatically turn around its sinking market share, battling back against stiff competition from bigger toy corporations both foreign and domestic. As mentioned, Radio Flyer closed the manufacturing portion of its Chicago operations in the ‘90s, and they also discontinued the original classic steel wagon, moving over entirely to plastic. Start designing today and thenGet Out and Play with your very own custom stroller wagonthis spring and summer.

There, he built and sold handmade furniture, wine presses, phonographs, wooden tricycles and, eventually, little wooden wagons for kids. “We weren’t asking moms what they wanted in products.” So the popularity of these plastic wagons caught them off guard. The Radio Flyer Red Wagon was a symbol of Fire Island Life. Simpler times made the wagon the perfect vehicle to transport everything we needed for a Fire Island stay. Today’s society needs more, giving way to large carts to now transport more, making our little red wagon a thing of the past.

So at the age of 16, his family sold their mule and he used the funds to travel to America. Little did he know that adults would find a use for those wagons on Fire Island as a way of transporting luggage, groceries and more in a place where there were no cars, and where you walked everywhere. Used all over Fire Island they were kept at the harbor where you could easily access them upon arrival.

Did Radio Flyer ever market a wagon (circa 1930’s) with pictures and text “The Iron Duke”? My family has had this wagon since new and when looking at antique wagons, it most resembles one that is a Radio Flyer, but I can’t tell its make. People tend to forget that both of Chicago’s World’s Fairs—the Columbian Exposition in 1893 and the Century of Progress in 1933—took place during major economic depressions. So while every participating company did its best to showcase a brave face, joining in the city’s spending splurge wasn’t always viewed as the wisest investment. By 1933, Pasin had set up his newly rechristened business, the Radio Steel & MFG Company, at a large manufacturing facility on Grand Avenue in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood.

By some estimates, Pasin’s sales team sold more than 120,000 miniature coaster wagons by the time the fair concluded in 1934. Many were red, like the one in our collection, but blue and green were also available, among others. Considering the volume of the souvenirs produced, many of these special 1933 mini Radio Flyers are still in circulation. But as evidenced by the condition of our artifact, time can take its toll on the rubber wheels and paint job. These were meant for putting on a shelf more than playing with.

Eventually Pasin found a job that used his woodworking skills, finishing pianos in a piano factory. By the time he had been in the United States for three years, he had saved enough to buy his own woodworking tools and to rent one room to use as a shop. In the evenings, Pasin worked alone, crafting children’s wooden wagons. During the day, he walked the streets of Chicago peddling his samples.

These in-person customer discovery sessions were crucial to the product’s eventual design, Pasin notes. The Liberty Coaster Company began producing the wooden bodied “No. 4 Liberty Coaster” in 1923. In 1927, Pasin replaced the wooden body with stamped steel, taking advantage of assembly line manufacturing techniques and earning him the nickname “Little radio flyer wagon Ford”. 1500 wagons a day rolled off assembly lines even during the Great Depression. Since 2002, the company has produced plastic as well as metal-bodied wagons. Radio Flyer, the maker of iconic children’s toys and namesake of the not-so-little red wagon dominating the southeast corner of Riverfront Park, celebrated its 100-year anniversary Thursday.

The toys’ yellow poles contain levels of lead that exceed the federal lead content ban. Lead is toxic if ingested by young children and can cause adverse health issues. “As people were buying phonograph cabinets they would say, ‘hey, can I get one of those wagons?’” Robert says. “And pretty soon he was selling more wagons than phonograph cabinets.” The “Childhood Express” is a classic toy on a giant scale by artist Ken Spiering, allowing children to slide out of it since 1990. Especially during the pandemic with limited hospital visitors, Garone said simple items like the wagons can make a young patient feel less alone and help take them out of the moment. Along with our in-house experts, our team analyzes thousands of product reviews from the most trusted websites.