Besides the summer home he holds in my nightmares, the statue appears to have been lost to history. But the company did celebrate its 80th anniversary in 1997 by building another giant 40-foot Radio Flyer wagon—sans boy—which is still parked outside their corporate offices in Belmont Cragin. Anniversary no. 100 arrived in 2017, though sadly, company matriarch Anna Pasin didn’t quite live to see it. Antonio’s widow died at the ripe old age of 107 (!!!) in 2016. When Antonio Pasin died in 1990 at age 93, his son Mario had already taken charge, and Mario’s son Robert took the reins in 1997.
All-terrain razor ride onss 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.
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.
The battery is integrated into the frame, but is removable for indoor charging. If you’re interested, you can donate money to Starlight specifically to fund these wagons. Starlight CEO Adam Garone told ABC15 his family knows the impact of the wagons firsthand. The wagon comes with an IV pole attachment, is made from medical-grade fabric that can easily be cleaned, and has a seatbelt with high, detachable walls, making for a comfortable and safe ride. The idea behind them is to make a child’s hospital experience a little less scary and a little more fun.
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.
Hoping to scale production and outpace his competitors, Antonio switched from wooden wagons to all-steel ones in the mid-1920s. By the 1930s, Antonio’s process was so operationally efficient that his team of 140 workers could stamp out 1,500 of them each day. In 1987, Radio Steel & Manufacturing changed its name for a third time, to Radio Flyer Inc. This name immediately brought to mind its most popular product.
The now classic toy was named for Pasin’s love and fascination of the radio and air flight. The high quality steel coaster wagons were a huge success and allowed Pasin to increase production while lowering the price. With affordable wagons, the slogan of the company became, “For every boy. For every girl.” Thousands of children enjoyed these classic toys.
Another unique attribute is that one side of the wagon bed unzips, turning your wagon into a bench. You wouldn’t want to pull it around with legs dangling, but if you’re parked the bench mode is quite comfortable for three bigger kids who just need a place to sit. Its seat cushions wipe clean pretty easily, and it has two external cup holders and a very easy one-hand fold. To fold, simply pull up a handle in the center of the seat and it collapses into a rectangle. The ability to fold up this Radio Flyer compactly is a unique feature among this group of basic wagons.
Starlight plays an integral role in the partnership, ultimately connecting Radio Flyer with the patients. Starlight s 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.
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 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.