I was remembering when with my Mother last night. She is about to celebrate the 75th anniversary of her being on this planet so she has a little history. In the conversation we were talking about her sweeper, who was a member of the family for many years until his death in a fire. He was promptly replaced with another (actually by the Kirby company.)
She said in those days the vacuum a woman owned was a status symbol to the others. In those days the women didn't work outside the home, in fact they though my mother was next to a tramp when she took a job to help out when my dad had his second heart attack. Anyway, all the women in her circle of friends either had a Kirby or and Electrolux. The main determination was if you liked an upright or a tank. She said that when the other women came over for coffee, your vacuum was always placed in the corner so others notice which one you had. The other women, usually those who's husbands didn't work at Boeing bought their vacuums at Macy's, Sears or Wards; they weren't as high up on the food chain. Mom said she remembered a new girl, newleywed, just moved to the burbs--didn't even own a vacuum. They usually sent the leftovers home with her--poor thing.
For the most part it was Kirby or Lux, much like the cars in your drive was either a Chevy or a Ford. There may be the occasional Chrysler, but little variance from the norm in the "Leave it to Beaver crowd." Mom said this competition continued with not only who had what Vacuum, but how many attachments you had with it until dishwashers became popular. Then everyone that was anyone had to have a dishwasher.
I'm just interested if others on this forum has any stories like this of the days gone by. I am sure those of you in the business could tell some stories.
I would love to hear from you.
This message was modified Mar 20, 2008 by Just
