I grew up with a Hoover, I believe a Model 61 though am not sure. My parents bought it second hand from a vacuum shop shortly before I was born and then used it for the next 20 years. Every time it had a problem some vac shop would fix it and tell my mother "you can buy a different vacuum but it won't be better". I am sure at some point it was taken in for service in the trunk of the '58 Plymouth four-door hardtop, black with a white vinyl and black cloth interior and of course a pushbutton Torqueflite to push those tailfins down the road!
Eventually the Hoover was profoundly worn out and my mother got a self-propelled Eureka that she liked quite a lot. She is decidedly an upright person, while I always liked canisters with some real suction, something the Hoover didn't have when using the tools. For me, my aunt's splendid GE swivel top and my grandmother's Kirby were far more interesting. Mom never liked the Kirby but she and my father recently moved halfway across the country and didn't both shipping whatever vac replaced the Eureka since I told them I had plenty of vacuums. When they moved into their new place here I had already stashed a Kirby Legend II in the hall closet so she's having to use a Kirby for awhile, we'll see how long that lasts! I did make her admit that it does a really good job on the carpet . . .
