All the Way to Santa Fe, the 2023 VCCC Convention

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I really enjoyed the earlier days.

I read a ad in a spring 1994 issue of the VDTA news that a man named Craig Long published , he said he was a serious collector of vintage vacuums and was looking for a long list of machines, I called him and talked for 3 hours! He told me of the club, so I called John Lucia, and Alex then Bob Taber, they immediately invited me to come to North Canton to the meeting that year ,but i couldnt make that happen, but I went in 1995 to Allentown Pa, meanwhile I made friends with Tom Gasko, Clay Floyd, Billy Lipman,Mike Hays,Roger Proehl, Charlie Lester and more, I went to every convention within driving distance for years, Some things that I didnt like went on and I left in the mid 2000s , but im still friends with many people from those early days, before the internet, back when we talked on the phone and really everyone got along so well, In those early days, we never argued politics, or anything else for that matter.
 
Canisterman.

About Craig Long, by the way no relation to John 'Gottahaveahoove' Long. He was one of the six I mentioned as the earliest members. He was from Buffalo, New York, and was the only one who did not write back when getting the introductory letter. He jumped the gun, called me with a huge "yes, please start the club." Anybody who met Craig was in for a treat. He was a living encyclopedia. Name any brand, he knew it, name a given machine and he could quote the instruction book, and give you correct dates of release.

Sadly, he missed the first meeting in 85 but was at the first one in Naperville in 86 and was the only member who stayed in my house. And he made a killer lasagna for all of us.

When I met him at Ohare airport in Chicago, he was carrying a 1950 Air-Way, sat with it in his lap, refusing to put it in the overhead compartment.

Craig passed away many years ago, and while we didn't talk often, when we did it was three hours or more.

Here's a picture of Craig in my living room. Second picture, the coveted Air-Way he gave me. Hand delivered. And I treasure it.

caligula-2023061822593101067_1.jpg

caligula-2023061822593101067_2.jpg
 
Decades ago, we had one of the first VCCC conventions in St. Louis, and in my home. Craig Long, along with many others, who are still my friends, was there. Michael Pletcher got my lewyt Electronic to work again, and sure enough Craig Long wanted to try it. And, of course, he got zapped. His hair stood straight out from his skull. We were trying to cut it off when someone pulled the cord out of the wall. Craig said “wow, what a rush“.
 
Another Convention for the books and the records

Yep, another Outstanding Convention, both in terms of fun and planned activities. The seamless transitions from one event to the next was a testament to all the hard work clearly invested...again. It was a treat to reconnect with so many great people. Even the weather was flawless, Sean....Good Job!!!

Until next year....Happy Hoovering, with or without America's most Iconic brand.

RBinOC
 
Photos look great! Glad you all had such a great time. Kudos to the collector with a marvelous array of GE/ Premier vacuums as they are great vacuums. I have never tried their power nozzle canisters but I have tried two uprights and enjoyed them.
 
luxlife

I put them on our website instead of vacuumland. Also, the club officers have been updated on our site as well under "contact us". We are going back to emailing the newsletter. Ken and Barb are taking on that task. Since the cost of physically mailing, it was still high for us.

We also have a Youtube video of some of our games that we are working on getting posted.

http://www.vacuumcleanercollectorsclub.org/annual-convention/
 
I've added some more. The convertibles on the table were donated to the club and given away as game prizes. I walked away with a 69 and Luke won the 68 and 34 I believe. We had plenty of vacs to raffle, and for the free and for sale piles. Chris received a very nice Eureka 260? (It was brown, I could be wrong on the model number) from Sean. Phillip took the GE tank vac home with him and a few others. :)

I also bought Glenn's pink Constellation for my sister. She wanted a vintage vac. We had other small appliances as well. I won a nice GE hand mixer and yellow bowl in the raffle.

We also watched Who's Minding the Store with Jerry Lee Lewis and afterwards we had to name the manufacturers of the appliances shown in the film. The winner walked away with the 70.

If you have never met Sean or been to one of his mini meets, then I feel bad for you. Sean is one of the most creative collectors I know, and his library of paper and catalogs is the best I've seen.
 

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