Fabulous Dustpan: The Book

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brettsomers

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Legends...

David,
Frank G. was the author, Boss Hoover's 2nd son. He passed away shortly before the book was published back in the 1950's.
Tom may know more about the Kolp family as he lives in North Canton. Mrs Frank G is the widow.

Overall its a very good book, if a bit syrup-y at times. It paints such a rosy picture of a businessman who transformed his horsecollar and saddle business into something nobody knew much about. It tells the story of a man who was really only trying to humor and help a friend out and instead made his name a household word.
Some cool trivia: One of the ladies who currently works in the Hoover Historical Center(Boss Hoover's boyhood home) has a grandmother still living who was actually born in that house. She also knew Boss Hoover, who was her Sunday School teacher.
My favorite quote in the book is from Boss Hoover "Now Frank, please keep your feet on the floor"
Happy reading, let us know what you think.
 
ive already read the whole thing. i imagined the book might talk more about cleaners, instead it seems more business oriented. its was interesing to read frank hoovers thoughts on the competition, and the rumor that Hoover damages rugs. i was also interested in what might be said about Murray Spangler, since i had the impression the Hoovers kinda ripped-off spanger. i thought the story about keeping up with the Joneses was very frank. if the book had been published later, i expected the author may have also touched on the Hoover cleaners effect on the carpeting industry. i have a suspicion the availability of cleaners, such as the Hoover, was one of the main reasons wall to wall carpeting became soo common. im intrigued at the thought of having a book signed by a Hoover, and to think the book was given to a friend of the Hoovers, and an *important* family to boot. i have a great respect for history. anyway, id love to know what others think of the contents of the book. thanks, jeff. David
 
Wall to wall carpeting could only exist where there are vacuum cleaners to clean it by lifting the dirt against gravity. Rugs otherwise have to be taken outside and shaken and beaten to get the dust out, which can't be done with permanently installed carpeting.
 
it sure BEATS the ol' fashioned methods of cleaning

I read this book back in 1977 and enjoyed it alot,especially the salesmen songs,as well as the history of positive agitation vs.the all-brush vacs 'til then.Also,I remember that in 1919,a college kid came up with "It beats,as it sweeps,as it cleans",a wonderful almost now forgotten slogan.When the 4-bar agitator debuted in 1926,it was so much greater at deep cleaning that it was hard to recognize it as the same cleaner when the tests were being done.All of this was fascinating to read.
 
Accuracy

David,
From the research I've done and all the stuff I've read, the merger with Murray Spangler is told accurately in the book. Boss Hoover had been in business for quite some time with the leather goods when Susan bought her vacuum from Murray, they didn't need the money or to really change the business. Boss Hoover was pretty much nagged into it. Murray's vacuum was one of(if not the first) electric appliances available, so in addition to selling they also had to educate people on its use. It was ALL uphill!
One of the neatest things I have seen in the HHC was in the form of a photo album, pictures taken at the factory thru the years. One picture stood out in my mind, of Boss Hoover and two of his sons, HW and Frank posing with the 1926 model 700. That cleaner was really a landmark for them, perhaps the one that made HOOVER household word. They were really concerned with quality back then, and would all probably shiver at the stuff that carries their name today.
 
All the dirt,all the grit,Hoover gets it 'every bit,for it beats as it sweeps,as it cleans.It deserves all its fame and it backs up every claim,for it beats as it sweeps,as it cleans.Oh,it's hi,hi,hee,the kinds of dirt are three,we'l tell the world just what it means (bing,bing,bing! ),spring or fall,the Hoover gets them all,for it beats as it sweeps as it cleans.
 
im gonna have to look up the melody for that *hoover march*. its hard to imagine the words set to music. about the 700, i got my (mutant) Hoover model 700 a while back. i was very impressed with it. the design that went into something as simple as the handle is amazing. on the other hand, the model 105 (?) i got later surprised me with how primitive it was, esp compared to the 700. funny thing about the 700, Oreck today BOASTS of having 24 bars on their commutator, the model 700 motor has AT LEAST 30 bars. night and day. too bad most people alive today dont know what its like to have to "beat" rugs, making *it Beats, as it Sweeps, as it Cleans" less effective as a marketing slogan. i remember the satisfaction i got (nut that i am) just from reading the phrase on the box of my Guardsman. David
 
I have!

Someone brought in Eureka's version of the Hoover Concept One into work today. It was a Self-propelled Eureka Ultra with a cord reel in the front.

Real shameless. The concept is still a better vacuum though :)
 
David...congrats on the "Fabulous Dustpan". It is a good book even if some parts are a little rosier than they actually were. My copy is signed simply "the Frank G. Hoover family". At this time the family really came apart. Boss' eldest son, H.W. Hoover had passed away from parkinsons in Sept. 1954 and Frank who had been president of the company from 1948 to 1951 died suddenly of a heart attack in December 1954 just months after his brother. That same year, H. W. Hoover's son "Jr." had taken the reigns of the company further splitting the family in half. The book itself is more of a fond recollection than serious fact. Boss Hoover is still very fondly remembered as is his son Herbert W. Hoover. Both men made the company thrive and did a lot to make North Canton what it is today. They each knew the men and women who worked for them by name and would speak to them as friends and as an equal. This was not the case with the third generation. The Kolp family worked in the company and possibly some still do. They are a well known name around town. One of the Kolps were present when the historical center opened in 1978. I believe he is the gentleman who cut the ceremonial ribbon opening the Center to the public along with our Gov. Rhodes at the time. The book is a great read and being from the area, it is very interesting to read about how life was so different back then. Too bad Murray Spangler (1848?-1915) did not live long enough to see his invention prosper. His family reaped the benefits as Hoover bought his patent and he received royalties on every cleaner sold. Money was even brought in by Boss Hoover's brother in Michigan, Frank K. Hoover who had sold his interest in the tannery years before. His son even came on board to help with the cleaners in an engineering capacity. The book really does gloss over a lot of the skeletons that the family would rather forget.

As for the slogan, I have read and been told that the employees came up with the idea and even chanted it in the cafeteria. It was a difficult concept to explain and the slogan helped. By the way this was the official Hoover song. It was even used in advertising until they decided that it was too un American. It was however used within the company for years. Children at North Canton schools would sing it. The Center has a sing a long display with the song on tape. One listen and you are singing that %#&#%&@#%@#& song the rest of the day! Thanks for the great thread!

--Tom
 
So when was *It Beats as it Sweeps as it Cleans* officially removed from usage? a supposed Hoover expert told me my Hoover Guardsman was made in 1989 (i have no idea), and it had the slogan prominently displayed on the box.
 
David

Your Guardsman is middle 80's, 1985-86 or so. That model was discontinued at the end of 1986 and replaced with a full hood red model.
 
If the guardsman were made in 1989, it would tell you so on the serial number, too. They started date-coding machines in 1987, I do believe.

"It Beats as it Sweeps as it Cleans" is actually still in use, believe it or not. It appears on the bottom or side of some of the boxes for the commercial products. As do "Fine appliances...around the house...around the world" and "Nobody Gets the Dirt Like Hoover, Nobody." I'm not remembering offhand if any others appear on boxes. I'll have to look. If they are still using the slogan, they can keep re-trademarking/re-copyrighting it. Sneaky, eh?
 
There ya go.

There ya go. It was born in Feb. of 1989. It came to you fresh out of the box, yes? So the base of the cleaner couldn't have been swapped with a newer base and polished?
 
swapped? like at the shop? it does say model #u4313. and it gives the belt #. if i remember, i brought it home with the box sealed, and put it together myself. i remember being impressed by the large bundle of bags included. it was John Gregory who gave me an exhaustive explanation of the date. he had some interesting things to say about service merchanise offering this model, and the unhappy vac shops. interesting thing, though, the box was printed with "sams club" as the destination, as in the wal mart folks. David
 
Hmm..

I don't know my U**** model numbers very well. The Sam's club thing is interesting, too. Jeff, what's your spin?
 
in addition

you may notice in the pic it has a newer black commercial bag, i changed it cause i like the way it looks better. and i also cracked the lens once, when i flipped it over to mess with the bottom (waahhh!)
 
my spin??

There's no way that was made in 1989, the U4313 was dropped at the end of 1986, and replaced by a full hood model with the cutout base, and by 89 they were on plastic bases.
I remeber the U4313 well, I bought one new for my sister when she got married in 1986. $159.95 new from the Hoover store in Melrose park.
They weren't widely available, around here Polk Brothers carried them for a while, as well as Service Merchandise. Its possible they were sold by Sams Club, too as it was considered a commercial machine.
How about a pic of the model tag with the serial number on it?
 
Hoover's label

This John Gregory guy gave me a long explanation of the Hoover Guardsman models, even before i was aware of the variations. what he said has mostly proven to be accurate. he says vac shops were selling the Guardsman and were glad to do so, until Service Merchandise began selling it at a discounted price. it may have dissapeared at this point from some vacs shops, who knows. the box mine came in was stamped for delivery to Sams club, and inside was the regular manual, but also included was an insert (that i didnt save) detailing the commercial warranty. the vac as it was recieved had the houndstooth vinyl bag (that i didnt care for). this sams club location, a local one, is still in existence today. note the spec tag states *for household use only*. i have a VERY vague memory of the box stamp also having some date aspect of *89*. i have purchased three Guardsman models from the shop this one came from, all NIB, and all had that Sams stamp on the outside. the vacs shop owner says he bought a quantity when he learned Hoover was discontinuing metal castings. i had a LONG phone conversation with John Gregory and (as kooky as he seems) he has an encyclopedic knowledge of Hoover models, including the #s. bonus= email me and i will share a GUARDSMAN secret with you. here is the photo requested by Jeff Parker (who we all know is *The King*)!
 
I'm only king in my own castle...

And not really even here, its Jack's house I just pay the bills.
I can't argue that tag, I did not realize they were made so late, maybe a special run for Sam's club? I still stand by what I said earlier, that model was dropped by Hoover stores back in 1986. What you have was not widely available in 1989.

Of course John Gregory would know everything there is about Hoover after all he's grown up in a vac shop and has been doing vacuums all his life. He even told me he's working side by side with the Hoover people to bring the Convertible back, so bravo John you go man!
 
What about the Celebrity Guardsman...

Was that only made when the Guardsman Upright first came out? I don't know very much about mine...

Corey
 

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