Our curator, Tom Gasko, has been kind enough to display his very own collection of vacuum cleaners and all 544 of them can be found in our museum. Not all can be displayed at once, but if asked about a model not displayed, Tom probably has it in the back and will bring it out to discuss.
The collection spans from as early as 1910 with the Royal Model 1 through modern day vacuum cleaners found in homes today. They have come from all parts of the world and even from a few local and nationally known celebrities. You will also see machines made famous for their leading roles in popular T.V. shows or movies, like the Kirby 1-CR fondly referred to as "Jaws" in the 80s hit movie Mr. Mom, the "Handy Dandy" Westinghouse Model T-11 vacuum Lucy buys and then tries to sell door-to-door in I Love Lucy and who could forget Wilma Flintstone's famous floor sweeper...
Ok, so maybe we don't have a prehistoric baby wooly mammoth on display but there are plenty of other vacuum cleaners, you just have to see it to believe it.
The collection spans from as early as 1910 with the Royal Model 1 through modern day vacuum cleaners found in homes today. They have come from all parts of the world and even from a few local and nationally known celebrities. You will also see machines made famous for their leading roles in popular T.V. shows or movies, like the Kirby 1-CR fondly referred to as "Jaws" in the 80s hit movie Mr. Mom, the "Handy Dandy" Westinghouse Model T-11 vacuum Lucy buys and then tries to sell door-to-door in I Love Lucy and who could forget Wilma Flintstone's famous floor sweeper...