Model XXX the favorite of the line.
Thank you Bill:
I grew up with Elextrolux's. My maternal grandfather was the house director of a boys school in Wallingford, Connecticut. That school was called Choate, today it's Choate/Rosemary Hall. As my 'grandpa' knew I was into vacuum cleaners, he often let me play in the storeage area where there were dozens of discarded Electrolux's, Hoover's, and Kirby's. He also was on a first name basis with two salesmen. Jack Early, who sold Kirby and Quinto Escarry, who sold Elecectrolux. The model XXX was everywhere! There was one in the barber shop, another in the chapel, and dozens in the various buildings. While my grandmother on both sides had moxel XXX's the lady next door, had a LX! I was about 2, maybe 3 when I saw it eject, and that was it, I was hooked. This lady was Jeanette Pletincks, and she was also a second mother to me. I'm sure it's because that model LX was hers that did it.
From that time on, I was always looking in closets to see what kind of vacuum cleaner people had, and most of them were Electrolux's!
When I was 17, I got hired as a salesman for Electrolux, but quickly learned that loving vacuum cleaners, loving to demo, and closing a sale were very different things. I was just too nice to close the sale! What I did learn was the history of not only Electrolux, but also Kirby, and so on. Then when I was 21, saw a two person hand pump non electric, and the historian was born!
Through my collection of instruction books (all brands) research of patent information, and aquisition of several machines, I got to learn the history of the Vacuum Cleaner. Mine was more or less hands on experience, as well as a photographic memory! Working for Electrolux, and later Kirby gave me a lot to work with. The only company I didn't know about was Hoover! But that was about to change.
I lived in Chesterton, Indiana at the time, about 50 miles from Chicago. I'd also made friends with a John Henry, who's father had started 'The Henry Co.' in Chicago. Through him I added a lot of machines to me collection. One afternoon he asked "have you ever been to the Hoover museum?" "no" I said, so he told me about the Hoover Historical Center. Two weeks later I went there, met the director, Stacy Krammes (her husband Don was the man who designed the Hoover floor washer), and suddenly I was told the history of Hoover. Now the world of the non electric, and early electric was at my fingertips. During my time at Hoover, I was treated like a full VIP, it was wonderful!
About a year later, I got a letter from Stacy, forwarding a letter from a collector in Palo-Alto, California, seeking info on the Hoover models, 150, and 700. This was John Lucia! Now there was somebody to share my wealth of information with, and we were in constant communication from then on. Then in the summer of 1982, John embarked on a cross country trip. Meeting me, and touring the Hoover Historical Center was on his list.
Together we saw the center, toured the factory, saw the Vault, and were both treated like royalty. As we went to the third floor of the factory, John and I both overheard one worker say to another. "I have no idea who these people are, but they must be very important, nobody gets to the third floor!" Back at the Center, Stacy gave us a list of names, the 5 people who were interested in collecting. As we were driving to my home state of Connecticut, I asked John if we should form a club? "I doubt if anybody will join, but it's worth a try, write to them and see." The result was the founding of the V.C.C.C.!
So there, in a nut shell is the history of our club.
