Iconic for the images of childhood it conveys, the Radio Flyer Red Wagon has been in production for nearly 80 years.
It’s one of the most iconic toys ever. If you look up “little red wagon” in the dictionary, you’ll probably find it’s picture. The Radio Flyer Red Wagon. This time of year, kids will be using them to pick up the old would be Jack-O-Lantern at the pumpkin patch. My son is planning on decorating his so he can off load his candy haul on Halloween night. It’s every child’s workhorse and every kids birthright. And it started nearly 100 years ago in Chicago.
Toy Maker Antonio Pasin began building wood toy wagons in 1917. By 1930, the company he formed, now known as Radio Steel & Manufacturing, had gotten so successful, it had to transition to steel wagons to meet up with demand. As such, the Radio Flyer Little Red Wagon was born.
Pasin called the wagon “Radio Flyer” because of his two favorite loves – broadcast radio and flight. After a brief stint during World War II making gas cans for the war effort, Pasin returned the Radio Flyer to production to meet the demand of baby boomer families popping up all over the country.
And not only red wagons. Radio Steel also makes a wide variety of steel toy vehicles including wagons, tricycles, even bikes. But the #18 Classic Red Wagon is the model which we have all come to know and love.
Hat Tip – Toy Whimsy