He explains that they only arrived at this, a workable, foldable wagon — now Radio Flyer’s best-selling variation of its red wagon — in 2016, after more than a decade of disasters. 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. After the war, the factory went back to making wagons and developed several new models in tune with the times.
Families fled en masse to the suburbs, where they boomed out babies who needed to be carted around their subdivisions or glide under their own power on the tricycles and scooters Radio Steel began to produce. “My niece a few years ago was diagnosed with brain cancer and she spent eight months in children’s hospital and she would sleep in the Radio Flyer wagon – she preferred to sleep in that,” Garone said. “It just made those moments when she knew she was going into more chemo, going from her bed to the treatment room… it transformed it and allowed her just to be a kid with something familiar and loved.” Starlight Radio Flyer Wagons distributed to hospitals across the country and played an integral part of a child’s pediatric care. Starlight Radio Flyer Hero Wagons provide a source of comfort and a sense of normalcy to sick kids during some of their most difficult times.
Fast forward to the 1950s, when Sputnik and “I Love Lucy” came on the scene. It was during this time, when fear of communism loomed, that the little red wagon cemented its status as an American icon. The massive art deco structure housed a kiosk, radio flyer wagon inside of which Anna helped work a mini assembly line putting together tiny steel wagons that sold for just 25 cents each—$4.56 today. As the Baby Boomers became “wagon aged,” Radio Flyer launched some new designs to appeal to this generation.
In the next room, beyond the drill presses, is the Bone Yard, containing dead husks of doomed ideas; you are not allowed to see inside. Still, a peek reveals a large warehouse space lined with cinder block walls and many, many variations on toy wagons and toy cars and toy riding horses. Antonio’s wagons are still fine-tuned daily inside its prototype shop, which is found behind a large white door at the end of a long white hallway.
They play a unique role at hospitals across country by providing patients unable to walk a way to move throughout the hospital and helping hospital staff deliver toys and other items to patient rooms. By providing a different option for patient transportation, these wagons transform a hospitalized child’s experience by removing the fear and anxiety that may come with having to use a wheelchair. These are the Radio Flyer wagons you loved when you were a kid.
He sold more than 100,000 of the mini wagons, and the fair made Radio Flyer a nationally recognized brand. Emand for Liberty Coasters was so high that Pasin abandoned his cabinetmaking ambitions to focus solely on the wagons. By 1923, he had begun working with steel instead of wood and painting the metal wagons bright red. Radio Flyer’s Mini Line is the ideal companion for all indoor and outdoor imaginative play. The perfect size for dolls, plush toys, and gift baskets, the Mini Line’s sturdy steel construction and high quality components are replicated from the classic Radio Flyer line of toys. Radio Flyer Minis are small enough for a child’s little hands and big enough for any imagination.
Check the manufacturer’s age recommendations before making your purchase. “As a general rule, shoppers should consider pinch points and other key safety factors like durability, stability and features like seatbelts when shopping for a wagon,” he says. But you don’t have to be a kid frozen ride on toy to appreciate this classic wagon. Many shoppers report using theirs for yard work or to gardening. Says one, “We have had almost 100 lbs. of weight in it already, and it performed well and needed very little effort to handle. We are anticipating many years of good use from it.”
Aesthetically, this trike’s chrome fender and handlebar feature a playful dinging bell that adds more fun to the riding experience. Plus, the handlebar prevents tipping with a controlled turning radius, keeping your toddler upright for a safe ride throughout. As your child keeps growing, feel free to adjust the seat for their comfort, so they won’t outgrow the tricycle as quickly.