Hi Paul.
Content to just look when I was a kid? Nothing could be farther from the truth! Mine was a hands on education.
While my grandmothers friend Jeanette, (aunt net to me) let me watch her use the model LX, she understood that even at two, or three, I had a respect for it. My job in those early years was to carry the cord when she changed outlets. In later years I was able to take a tool off the companion and hand it to her, but never the main rug tool, that remained unused. For some strange reason, she used the upholstery tool on the carpets, but yes, she did use the bare floor took on the kitchen and bathroom floors.
My maternal grandmother had two vacuum cleaners, an Electrolux XXX, upgraded to a model E. She also had a Kirby 512, but it was never used other than in the upright configuration. And while Jenrette never let me vacuum, just watch or pass her tools, my grandmother did, and I was in heaven.
As I grew older, I needed to know what my grandmothers friends used. Sometimes I'd ask, at other times, I blatantly opened the door to what I thought was the cleaning closet, and looked. My instincts were at work here, I knew who I could ask and who I could not. In many cases I was asked, "would you like to use it?" That was always a red letter day for me, but I knew how to treat that Electrolux, Hoover, or Kirby with great respect.
As my maternal grandfather (who's name Alexander) worked for a boy's prep school, he knew where the storerooms were. And in these rooms were discarded vacuum cleaners. While there was no electricity in these storerooms, I took each vacuum cleaner for a test drive none the less.
In the 1950's and 60's the world was a safe place, so when my mom, grandmother, and so on went to Sears to buy dresses, I was left in the vacuum cleaner department. I was on cloud nine!
By the time I was ten, I knew every vacuum cleaner on the market, I also know what every one of my friends mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and so on were using, and in many cases, had used them myself. Add to this my reading material were instruction books, and ads in magazines.
So, as you see, my childhood was centered around vacuum cleaners, in fact, in my baby book is the question "what do you want to be when you grow up. I said "vacuum salesman," and I was, my first paying job was selling the Electrolux 1205. It also states my first word was vacuum, but pronounced 'vacum' (short u) I'll scan that in tomorrow and show you.
Yes, the vacuum cleaner, and it's history has been a lifelong, and very hands on experience.
