Thread Number: 20362
My Friend Norm, the Electrolux Man |
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Post# 228038   4/11/2013 at 23:04 (4,003 days old) by Electrolux137 (Los Angeles)   |   | |
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I have a friend here in L.A. named Norm who is a retired Electrolux Man. In 1958, he began working part-time for Electrolux as a salesman. He turned this part-time position into a 17-year career with the company, working his way up to the position of Division Manager of the Pacific Northwest. |
Post# 228045 , Reply# 1   4/12/2013 at 00:24 (4,003 days old) by electromatik (Taylorsville, North Carolina, U.S.A.)   |   | |
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What a wonderful story. That is why I joined this forum. I must say that story was hilarious. Especially the part about the Kirby. I never thought about how the door-to-door companies competed behind the scenes. That was too funny. I'd love to sell thier vacuums but I am NO seller. I couldn't sell water to a man in the desert. |
Post# 228107 , Reply# 2   4/12/2013 at 15:51 (4,002 days old) by Paul (USA)   |   | |
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Hi, Charles,
Awesome story--thanks for sharing. I bet I'd enjoy visiting with Norm, too, and picking his brain about each Electrolux model and its attachments.
Paul |
Post# 228119 , Reply# 3   4/12/2013 at 18:52 (4,002 days old) by suckolux (Yuba City, CA)   |   | |
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Post# 228160 , Reply# 5   4/13/2013 at 02:04 (4,002 days old) by Electrolux137 (Los Angeles)   |   | |
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I have often wondered the very same thing myself. Many of the early Electrolux logos seem to bear Masonic influence (see attached image) -- and it's very possible, likely even, than the founders of Electrolux were Masons or members of other esoteric societies. But that was nothing out of the ordinary in those days. Most men of business and commerce belonged to the local lodge, less for "mysterious secrets" and more for a chance to get out of the house and have a night out drinking with their fellow lodge brothers! The closest thing to a logo history that I have appears on the last page of my "History of American Electrolux. The link is below. CLICK HERE TO GO TO Electrolux137's LINK This post was last edited 04/13/2013 at 03:24 |
Post# 228164 , Reply# 7   4/13/2013 at 03:09 (4,002 days old) by Electrolux137 (Los Angeles)   |   | |
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Well, I wouldn't say that they OUTRIGHT contained Masonic logos but that they may have had Masonic influences. Take the one I posted above -- it's a copper drink coaster. The most prominent Masonic-like element on it is the circle enclosed within a triangle, even more so with its sunburst rays. Then there's the corocupia or "horn of plenty" also depicted on the coaster. While widely associated in the U.S. with the Thanksgiving holiday, it does have its origins in Masonry. See link below. I also meant to comment on the Electrolux circular logo with the three upright bars as you mentioned. While it could be thought to have "vestiges" of the Sun and Rays logo (as seen more dramatically in the coaster, and elsewhere), it might just be a logo that a Electrolux designer came up with and it was so lovely that it became iconic for the company for many years. The logo may have been designed by Lurelle Guild, as it first appeared on the attachments for the first Model 30 ("XXX") that he designed. More below on the sunburst... Oh, and yes, Lodge Meetings were a great source of "getaway entertainment" for men, particularly during Prohibition whose tentacles of temperance somehow managed not to get entangled into some of the various "secret societies." CLICK HERE TO GO TO Electrolux137's LINK |
Post# 228169 , Reply# 8   4/13/2013 at 03:23 (4,002 days old) by Electrolux137 (Los Angeles)   |   | |
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The Electrolux sunburst logo first appeared very early, indeed, it predates AB-Elektrolux by several years, on the Lux Model 1. (See link.) It was used on all Electrolux models up through the Model XII and then disappeared with the Model XXX. (See image below.) A circle with rays (above, below, or all around) appears in Masonic imagery as just a plain circle, or a sun with a face, or, more dramatically, as the "Eye of Horus" or the "All-Seeing Eye." But, here again, the use of this symbol as part of Electrolux iconography may be purely happenstance. So why do I know so much about this? No, I am not a Mason nor do I belong to any "secret societies" or fraternities. It's just an area of study and contemplation that has fascinated me for many years. My maternal grandfather (who was a Southern Baptist minister) and many of my uncles were Masons or Elks. But for all of them, I know for a fact that their memberships were secured purely for societal reasons and not for anything nefarious! CLICK HERE TO GO TO Electrolux137's LINK |