Hoover Vault in North Canton

[portable]

Tom A. - This question is for you. John Lucia here. When Roger and Scott and Michael and Terry and I gathered over the holidays last year, we wondered what would happen with the special vault at Hoover in No. Canton now that the company is undergoing changes. I notice you've been cleaning up some of the machines from the vault. Do you think Hoover will keep the vault and contents? Several years ago, Bob Kautzman (former club member) offered to photograph and catalog the contents, but we were politely turned down. Any news you can relay? Forgive me if others have asked you this already. Hi, by the way!

 

[charles~richard]

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYY!!!

HI JOHN!!! So GREAT to have you here!

For folks who may not know who this legendary vacuum cleaner collector is, he is one of the two co-founders of the Vacuum Cleaner Collectors Club!! Yes, here's one of the very men we have to thank for the incredible organization we have today!

HERE IS THE STORY of that fateful beginning, as told on the original vaccc.com site. (Shouldn't this be somewhere on our new site, Fred?!)


==========================


John Lucia and Bob (Alex) Taber, the VCCC co-founders, started corresponding with one another in 1981. They met in person in 1982 when, together, they made a pilgrimage to the Hoover Historical Center and factory. That was the first time they ever saw "The Vault" where Hoover kept the competitors' models and their own early machines.

After their meeting at Hoover in 1982, they decided to see if there were other people interested in vacuum cleaners. They officially founded the club in 1983.

Over the next five years or so, the Club grew to about 10 people through word of mouth: primarily via the Hoover Company. Eventually, however, John and Alex decided to let the club lapse. This was due mainly to inactivity, but also because of some embarrassing mishaps involving a couple of the more "colorful" club members.

When Charles Richard Lester first met Stan Kann in 1991, Stan told him not only about George Bourhill (R.I.P.), but also Alex Taber, John Lucia, and Mike Pupek, all of whom he had known for several years.

Charles Richard first met John and Alex in 1991 by telephone. Stan had given him their names and phone numbers along with George Bourhill's and Mike Pupek's info.

Charles Richard heard the very thrilling news from John that there was a Vacuum Cleaner Collectors' Club. Then he heard the very disappointing news that the Club was "in limbo" as Alex Taber put it.

Well, of course, Charles Richard suggested getting the Club going again! However, John and Alex both were rather lukewarm about the idea. (Well, that is, John was "rather lukewarm" but Alex was "vehemently opposed" to the idea!) However, after much prodding and urging by Charles Richard, they finally agreed, albeit reluctantly, to do so.

So, the three them were the first members of the "NEW Vacuum Cleaner Collectors Club," with Charles Richard serving as newsletter editor and publisher. They also invited Stan Kann to join, of course, which he did. George Bourhill joined soon thereafter.

Then, other collectors came out of the woodwork in 1992 and 1993. Folks who joined included the following, who are still in the club today: Clay Floyd, Tom Gasko, Billy Lipman, Don O'Connor, Roger Proehl, Mike Pupek (also an original member from the 1970s), and David Watters.

Other members by 1993 -- but no longer in the Club -- included Chuck Diehl, Don Emmite, Joe Ferrante, Peter Frei, Bill Voigt, and Gary Wahl ....... for a whopping total of eighteen - count - em - eighteen members!! Who would ever have imagined there were SO MANY sweeper nuts loose on the planet?!

And, now, with over a hundred members ... Well, as the cliché goes, "the rest is history!"

 

[myhooverco]

Hi John...

Yes, the Hoover vault is still intact. I have yet to see it though I have heard some great stories. Many of the items displayed in the Historical Center have come from the vault and some have been returned. Ann just has to make a call and she can get the items that she needs. Now that the new owners are taking over it will be anyone's guess as to how the vault will be handled. I hope that TTI will have an appreciation for this collection. I will keep my eyes and ears open and if they decide to "clean house" then I want to be there on trash day!!! John feel free to give me a call. It sounds as if you have seen a lot in the club over the years. I would like to know what you collect!

--Tom

I may be able to shed some more light on this later this week...wink wink.

 

[compactelectra]

Welcome John

We are honored and pleased to have you join us. I am sure your knowledge and insight will be welcome.

Fred

 

[portable]

Thanks Guys

Thanks for the warm "welcome". Now that I have a better connection to the internet, I will be able to join the discussion now and then. Tom, I've seen the inside of the vault twice. What a thrill. There are some ANCIENT things in there, including some early Bissell, Western Electric and other early electrics. There are also several "NIB"s too, including some Canadian machines. I also met Skip Marquardt (sp?) years ago. At that time, he was the Supervisor who oversaw, among other things, the vault and contents. A different person was responsible for it the last time I saw it (early '90s Charles? - I remember you were along on that trip. If Alex Taber is reading this, he probably remembers too). If I ever get back to Oregon to pick up the rest of my things I can retrieve the early newsletters and pictures. Anyway, it was the equivalent of walking into Tut's tomb in the 20s. We were all quite bowled over. I hope you get to see it one day, ya'll!

 

[charles~richard]

Hoover Vault

John, I was not able to attend that meeting. However, I do have the master copy of the newsletter that featured the Hoover trip. There are a dozen or so photos of the vault in the newsletter. Once I am fully back on my feet I'll dig it out and scan the photos to post here. If I forget about doing it, don't be shy, y'all, about reminding me.

 

[alex]

A warm hug to my co-founder

Hi John, great to hear from you. Drop me an email when you can.

With love,

Bob/Alex Taber

http://[email protected]

 

[alex]

A tribute to Stacy Krammes at Hoover

Charles Richard is right about how John and I met, however, we both need to say thank you to Stacy Krammes the former Director of the Hoover Historical Center, hereafter refered to as the "H.H.C".

Without knowing it I got the ball rolling when I toured the H.H.C in 1980. I was also the first to see the vault, what a day that was! Stacy opened her files to me and a good number of the documents I now have were given to me by her!

Out of the blue, I got a letter from John Lucia in California asking about Hoover models 150 and 700. That letter was the first contact with a fellow vacuum cleaner buff. Naturally I was elated, to be able to share this wealth of history with someone else, that was a dream come true.

I don't think John or I ever thought that this club would grow to the size it is today, but I for one am happy to know we got it going.

I'm so pleased to see that John is back with us.

With deep respect,

Bob/Alex Taber

http://[email protected]

 

[hoovercelebrity]

The Vault.

I, too, have been inside the Hoover vault. My first trip to the Factory, in 1993. They wanted to do something special for me, so they bought me and my family lunch in the cafeteria and then took me to see two assembly lines. One was for an Elite (the model I sold my Nintendo to buy) and a PowerMax--the burgundy one from the early 90's. I barely remember it all, but remember it being cool. Tracks high above the floor with boxes of machines moving from the end of the assembly line to wherever their next destination was.

Back on topic. So, then we went to the third or fourth floor, and waited out in a lobby sort-of area. There was a set of double doors. Then we were met by whoever was in charge of what was behind those doors. They were opened, and I was able to prettymuch walk up and down aisle after of aisle of gray metal shelves, lined with cleaners laying down, handle to base. The shelves were taller than I was, maybe 9 or 10 feet tall... The room had old, creeky wood floors.

If I knew then all of the stuff I know now about various models, I would have spent lots more time in there analyzing all of the machines. But, in fact, I was a 10 year-old kid who was in a room full of shelves of vacuum cleaners. I was told at some point that one of pretty much every model they ever produced was in that room. Which was impressive. They did say that I couldn't go past a certain point--as there were prototype machines that I wasn't allowed to see. No doubt, prototypes of the PowerDrive, or perhaps the SteamVac.. maybe even the WindTunnel.

I also remember seeing boxes of the various small appliances, and old bottles of shampoo for the Shampooers.

Oh, If one could turn back time.

I was also privvy to see 'the vault' again in 2000, while at the VCCC Convention. I had lunch at the factory with my friend, Jackie--the head of PR for Hoover (whom I had befriended and stayed in contact with during and after my 'media circuit'). On that trip, I was taken through the "Products and Samples" room, which was home to all of Hoover's current models, and all of the competition's current models. After seeing that room and talking to the guy in charge of it, we took a quick spin through the vault--and again, I didn't know all that I know today.

Again. If one could turn back time. I dream of going back in there, and being let loose. Oh, the fun I'd have!

Unfortunately, when Maytag decided to do their hostile takeover in 2004, my friend Jackie lost her job. *poof* 27 years with the company, gone before her very eyes. 'Twas a sad day in North Canton.

*sigh*

Let's home that TTI treats the contents of the vault as they need to be treated. Lovingly.

~Fred

 

[portable]

Ah yes...

Fred -

I remember the Models and Samples area too. When Bob (Alex) and I went to Hoover on the same trip that we saw the Vault, they showed us a few "crumbs", mostly washing machines they were working on. I think they said they were from South Africa. The cycles were operated by a credit-card-like card that fit in the side of the machines.

I also remember, like you, that we were not allowed to see the prototypes in the Vault. Wouldn't THAT be a treat?

I too remember Jackie - she was a nice woman who treated our large group in the early 90s with great respect and made sure we had fun. I hope she found a great job after that.

 

[portable]

Ah yes...

Fred -

I remember the Models and Samples area too. When Bob (Alex) and I went to Hoover on the same trip that we saw the Vault, they showed us a few "crumbs", mostly washing machines they were working on. I think they said they were from South Africa. The cycles were operated by a credit-card-like card that fit in the side of the machines.

I also remember, like you, that we were not allowed to see the prototypes in the Vault. Wouldn't THAT be a treat?

I too remember Jackie - she was a nice woman who treated our large group in the early 90s with great respect and made sure we had fun. I hope she found a great job after that.

 

[myhooverco]

I was THERE today!

It was a total treat to get a chance to visit the "Models and Samples" room at the Hoover Company today. I was part of the Hoover Historical Center group tour that had a chance to go through and choose some models for the displays especially the one coming up next year (Hoover's 100th). There was a lot of people losing their jobs today and more tomorrow (I guess engineering is gone!). It was a great day but with very sad undertones.

The "Vault" as it is referred to is real! It is very much like Fred described above. I too was not permitted in the experimental section. I saw brand new Hoover Convertibles, 700's, Areodynes, Swingettes, appliances, and others. The older machines were all boxed in generic cardboard boxes so I peeked in many of them. I saw a brand new 29, 450, 91, 65, and many others. I even saw a few model O's hanging around. The neatest thing I saw was a brand new "Hygienesac" set up for a model 725 from around 1930. It was new and complete. I also saw a polisher attachment for a 700 new in the box. I had a great morning there rummaging through boxes and talking "shop" with the guy who runs it. I cannot thank the Company enough and the great gals at the Hoover Historical Center for inviting me.

Just so everyone knows...the "Vault" is safe and sound and intact at least for the moment. The Historical Center has made it known that they are interested in the items should the new owners decide to clean house. I feel confident that this part of history will be saved for future generations.

It was a truly amazing day!

--Tom

PS...I am sorry but I was not permitted to bring in my camera...otherwise I would have loved to share the photos with all of you.

 

[charles~richard]

Other brands in the vault?

I have heard that over the years (at least, in the good old days), Hoover bought competitors' machines to examine and test them, and that these are also in the vault. ARE there scads of, say, old "brand new in the box" Electroluxes and Kirbys in there as well?!

 

[myhooverco]

Charles...

There were lots of old what I call Bojack machines. However they were very well used as they had the usual dings and scratches. None were in the box that I noticed. Lots of Luxes and newer stuff from Regina and DD. I did not see a Kirby out. It could have been there but I was in Hoover mode and probably did not notice!

--Tom

 

[charles~richard]

First Club Meeting - Group Photo

I've been digging around in my sweeper archives for stuff - the Filtex article and photos from the meeting in Canton when the Club toured the Vault. I haven't found either of those yet, but I found a couple of other gems.

First, here is a group photo of I believe all the attendees of the first meeting of the "reconstituted" club. The meeting took place at Alex Taber's house in Naperville, Illinois, in June of 1993.

Top Row, left to right:
David Watters, Clay Floyd, Tom Gasko, Billy Lipman, Peter Frie, Mike Pupek

Kneeling in middle: Roger Proehl

Bottom row, left to right:
Charles Richard Lester, Alex Taber, John Lucia

I also have, like, three VHS tapes full of raw footage taken over the course of tyhe weekend. One of these days I'll have to figure out a way to distill that down to about an hour presentation and show it at one of the next Club Meetings.

There's just no way to express how much fun we had, how magical it was, to be in a house full of like-minded collectors. I believe we all felt like "we had finally come home."

Then for the other photo I found, see the thread "Vacuum Cleaner Graveyards."

 

[portable]

Tom, you lucky guy...

Congrats on your tour through the Inner Sanctum. They DID allow us to take pictures when we were there in the 90s. I have to find the pictures, tho' I didn't take many. I think we also published some in the newsletter of the time.

I'm glad you had fun in the Vault.

 

[hoovcand]

hoover vault

im looking forward to see the pics as for the videos hows about makeing dvds or put footage on youtubey al uk

 

[rexairman]

The Vault was truly the highlight of the '94 VCCC Convention, the second such convention I attended, having been to the one at Alex Taber's home the year before. It would be terrific if we could see it again. If it is going to be broken up, it would be great if we could (along with the general public, if necessary) have a chance to bid on the many machines it contains.