Maglite

This is Lee Habeeb, and this is Our American Stories.

In 1996, the Wall Street Journal referred to the Maglite flashlight as the Cadillac of flashlights.

The creator of this flashlight that sold millions? Tony Maglica, founder of Mag Industries.

Today, our own Monty Montgomery brings us the story of this Croatian immigrant who started with nothing and ended up with something.

But, yeah, it looks like they're going for about $36 currently.

So if that's in your market or if you've got a kid to buy a flashlight for, one of my favorite things I owned as a child was a Maglite.

Oh, yeah.

You know, the 2AA that you could take the cap off and put it in the cap so it would sit like a candle.

I think it was halogen.

Those little halogen bulbs that got wicked hot.

I assume Maglite now makes one in LED.

But that was one of my favorite things I owned, period, as a child.

Now, I'm a police officer, or I was at the time.

I had a Maglite flashlight and my .357 service revolver.

My friend had an intense flashlight of his own.

With my revolver in one hand, we aimed our flashlights at the opposite bank and turned them on at the same time.

I have no idea why, but I just did.

All I had with me was a bottle of water and a Maglite flashlight, you know, 5D cell Maglite flashlight.

And I remember just getting aroused in the cemetery, and I don't know why, but I put the mag light in my mouth to look at a grave while I was... kind of like adjusting my pants.

And as I was in that situation, a cemetery groundskeeper or whatever you call them goes, Hey, and yells at me.

another clip.

Right? Shout out to Maglite with a – how about Maglite with a subscription on Twitch? That'd be it.

That'd be it, Maglite.

Let's go.

Clap it up for Maglite.

Let's go, Maglite.

If you're on TikTok, help out the show.

Come watch on the red app or the purple app.

scalpel

Maglite, why? Maybe you shouldn't be here.

All right, Hannah.

That'll be five questions.

I never left a camera there 'cause I figured somebody'd steal it.

But, uh, you know, and when I was walking up, we didn't really have any good trees to knock on, so I'd take a, a three cell Maglite and bang it on the, on the, uh, telephone poles and to see if I'd get them to communicate.

And I never, never saw anything or heard anything back.

Um, but I was playing Matt Moneymaker's screams one night.

Duct tape, as cheap as can be.

Maglite, it's

hard

to find

Inside, I grabbed the biggest flashlight we had.

It was one of those enormous Maglites heavy enough that it could double as a club if necessary.

Then I went back outside.

The sounds followed me the whole way.

Dad's expression changed from irritation to alarm within seconds.

He retrieved his baseball bat and the large Maglite flashlight from beneath the kitchen sink.

Before going outside, he instructed Mom to lock every door behind us.

When Dad and I reached the shed, the padlock remained in place.