Electrolux Model R Extravaganza!

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Those of you who may sometimes question your sanity about collecting vacuum cleaners, or wonder about the scope and depth of your obsession... well, perhaps this little story that reveals the scope and depth of MY obsession may be of some comfort to you.......

When I was 9 years old my family moved to a new home, new community, new school, new church. One of the first things that I scoped out at the church, along with the mimeograph machine and its sticky black ink, was the vacuum cleaner. It took a little bit of sleuthing, well, okay, snooping. I finally found it, stored in a closet in the narthex under the stairs leading to the balcony. It was an Electrolux Model R - the first time I had ever seen that model. I was quite intrigued by it and didn't take many days before I was intimately acquainted with it and all its parts. We lived right next door in the parsonage, and the church was always open, so it was no problem to sneak over there and play with the sweeper.

Also in the closet were the remnants of its predecessor, a Model XXX. There were two stairways in that church, and a closet under each one.

One day when I was using it in the narthex, the custodian, a crabby old lady named Miss Fannie Godsey, busted me. She came in and demanded, very crossly, "What are YOU doing with MY vacuum sweeper??!"

*GULP.*

I think that was the first time I ever admitted to anyone outside of my family that I liked vacuum cleaners. How else could I explain it? So I came clean, pun intended. I said, "I dunno ... I just think it's fun to use the sweeper and my mom's is a really crummy one. It's nowhere as nice as this one."

Well, Miss Fannie got a sort of half-smirk on her face and said, "Well, then, since you like the sweeper so much, you can use it -- EVERY week -- cleaning the ENTIRE auditorium." I think in her mind she thought that was punishment for me. Little did she know I could hardly have heard better news!

So vacuum I did, very diligently and thoroughly, every week. The entire auditorium, even on the floor under all the pews.

Okay, fast forward about 35 years. One day I was down at my former church practicing the organ. I went into the narthex in the back to "water the plumbing." When I came out of the rest room I was looking around in the narthex, just, you know, gazing. Suddenly, for the first time, it dawned on me that ... there are two stairways in the narthex, and ... two closets!

Well.

It occurred to me that it might be fun to bring down one of my Model R Electroluxes and put it in the closet, and pretend that's the vacuum the church uses and that's where it's stored. (Actually, they had a beat-up Royal upright, an even-more-beat-up Eureka Bravo and what was left of a funny little red plastic canister vac that looked like a ladybug.)

The next time I came down to the church I brought with me a complete Model R with all the accessories, a time-worn XXX, and just for an extra little thrill, an XXX floor polisher attachment in the original box. I carefully arranged all the attachments and stuff in the way I envisioned the custodian may have had it, and stored the XXX and polisher on a shelf in the rear of the closet. It all looked just perfect. I had completely "set the stage" for my Model R flight of fancy!

I walked away leaving the closet door a bit ajar - just enough to partly see inside.

Then I went in to the sanctuary to do some practicing. Later I came back again and pretended to be back there for the first time. I wandered around looking at the stuff on the tables, then looked in one closet, then walked over to the other, "pretend-wondering" if there might be a vacuum cleaner back there somewhere ... And there, would you believe it, I saw ... a Model R Electrolux and all the attachments! I was very excited to find that!!

I opened the door and brought out the vacuum and all the attachments, and used it in the sanctuary. I left it sitting in there and went out for a while. Then I came back, wondering to myself if the custodian was there cleaning and whether or not he had brought out the vacuum. When I went into the sanctuary I was quite surprised and pleased to see a lovely Electrolux Model R and power nozzle in there!

I sometimes do equally strange things at home, like, I'll turn on a vacuum cleaner then go outside and walk around to listen to it from out of doors. One time I actually made a videotape of me vacuuming with my Model 513 Kirby, then played it back on the TV (with a very good sound system).

I went outside, and as I walked up and down the sidewalk and listened to the vacuum, it sounded very realistic, both because it was playing from a good sound system and also because you could hear the rise and fall of the motor as I pushed it back and forth across the rug.

A tiny embarrassing moment occurred when one of my neighbors came out at the same time, said hello, and then asked who was running the vacuum inside. Thinking very quickly, I said it was Arlee cleaning his room! Whew!! How would I have ever explained what I was really doing??!

Okay ... feel better now?

(And now, let's hear some of your peculiar sweeper fun!!)

Photos... < > Photo 1 of 13 View Full Size


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Post# 308558 12/11/2014 at 23:38 (3,420 days old) by electrolux137 (Los Angeles)
Checkrate/Likes 1 ~ ~ First, here are some photos of the Electrolux Model R hose, with the Model F for comparison. All the Model Rs, whether they had white/gray attachments or white/turquoise attachments, had the same hose. Note that the color scheme for both the F and R hose is the same, but the configuration of the stripes is different. Also note that the Model R hose is about a foot shorter. Photos... < > Photo 1 of 2 View Full Size This post was last edited 12/12/2014 at 03:12

Post# 308559 , Reply# 1 12/11/2014 at 23:47 (3,420 days old) by electrolux137 (Los Angeles)
Checkrate/Likes 2 *Model R Custodian's Closet Fantasy!* ~ ~ Those of you who may sometimes question your sanity about collecting vacuum cleaners, or wonder about the scope and depth of your obsession... well, perhaps this little story that reveals the scope and depth of MY obsession may be of some comfort to you....... When I was 9 years old my family moved to a new home, new community, new school, new church. One of the first things that I scoped out at the church, along with the mimeograph machine and its sticky black ink, was the vacuum cleaner. It took a little bit of sleuthing, well, okay, snooping. I finally found it, stored in a closet in the narthex under the stairs leading to the balcony. It was an Electrolux Model R - the first time I had ever seen that model. I was quite intrigued by it and didn't take many days before I was intimately acquainted with it and all its parts. We lived right next door in the parsonage, and the church was always open, so it was no problem to sneak over there and play with the sweeper. Also in the closet were the remnants of its predecessor, a Model XXX. There were two stairways in that church, and a closet under each one. One day when I was using it in the narthex, the custodian, a crabby old lady named Miss Fannie Godsey, busted me. She came in and demanded, very crossly, "What are YOU doing with MY vacuum sweeper??!" GULP. I think that was the first time I ever admitted to anyone outside of my family that I liked vacuum cleaners. How else could I explain it? So I came clean, pun intended. I said, "I dunno ... I just think it's fun to use the sweeper and my mom's is a really crummy one. It's nowhere as nice as this one." Well, Miss Fannie got a sort of half-smirk on her face and said, "Well, then, since you like the sweeper so much, you can use it -- EVERY week -- cleaning the ENTIRE auditorium." I think in her mind she thought that was punishment for me. Little did she know I could hardly have heard better news! So vacuum I did, very diligently and thoroughly, every week. The entire auditorium, even on the floor under all the pews. Okay, fast forward about 35 years. One day I was down at my former church practicing the organ. I went into the narthex in the back to "water the plumbing." When I came out of the rest room I was looking around in the narthex, just, you know, gazing. Suddenly, for the first time, it dawned on me that ... there are two stairways in the narthex, and ... two closets! Well. It occurred to me that it might be fun to bring down one of my Model R Electroluxes and put it in the closet, and pretend that's the vacuum the church uses and that's where it's stored. (Actually, they had a beat-up Royal upright, an even-more-beat-up Eureka Bravo and what was left of a funny little red plastic canister vac that looked like a ladybug.) The next time I came down to the church I brought with me a complete Model R with all the accessories, a time-worn XXX, and just for an extra little thrill, an XXX floor polisher attachment in the original box. I carefully arranged all the attachments and stuff in the way I envisioned the custodian may have had it, and stored the XXX and polisher on a shelf in the rear of the closet. It all looked just perfect. I had completely "set the stage" for my Model R flight of fancy! I walked away leaving the closet door a bit ajar - just enough to partly see inside. Then I went in to the sanctuary to do some practicing. Later I came back again and pretended to be back there for the first time. I wandered around looking at the stuff on the tables, then looked in one closet, then walked over to the other, "pretend-wondering" if there might be a vacuum cleaner back there somewhere ... And there, would you believe it, I saw ... a Model R Electrolux and all the attachments! I was very excited to find that!! I opened the door and brought out the vacuum and all the attachments, and used it in the sanctuary. I left it sitting in there and went out for a while. Then I came back, wondering to myself if the custodian was there cleaning and whether or not he had brought out the vacuum. When I went into the sanctuary I was quite surprised and pleased to see a lovely Electrolux Model R and power nozzle in there! I sometimes do equally strange things at home, like, I'll turn on a vacuum cleaner then go outside and walk around to listen to it from out of doors. One time I actually made a videotape of me vacuuming with my Model 513 Kirby, then played it back on the TV (with a very good sound system). I went outside, and as I walked up and down the sidewalk and listened to the vacuum, it sounded very realistic, both because it was playing from a good sound system and also because you could hear the rise and fall of the motor as I pushed it back and forth across the rug. A tiny embarrassing moment occurred when one of my neighbors came out at the same time, said hello, and then asked who was running the vacuum inside. Thinking very quickly, I said it was Arlee cleaning his room! Whew!! How would I have ever explained what I was really doing??! Okay ... feel better now? (And now, let's hear some of your peculiar sweeper fun!!) Photos... < > Photo 1 of 13 View Full Size

Post# 308560 , Reply# 2 12/11/2014 at 23:48 (3,420 days old) by electrolux137 (Los Angeles)
Checkrate/Likes 1 *The Model R Being Used!* ~ ~ And here are some photos of when I brought the Model R into the sanctuary and set it up as if it was about to be used. Photos... < > Photo 1 of 20 View Full Size

Post# 308561 , Reply# 3 12/11/2014 at 23:49 (3,420 days old) by electrolux137 (Los Angeles)
*This post has been removed by the member who posted it.*

Post# 308562 , Reply# 4 12/11/2014 at 23:54 (3,420 days old) by electrolux137 (Los Angeles)
Checkrate/Likes 1 ~ ~ And finally, here's a really pretty factory-reconditioned Model R painted in Model 1205 dark metallic turquoise. I think it's really beautiful! I found it at a vac shop here in L.A. The guy was happy to let me take it home. :) Photos... < > Photo 1 of 4 View Full Size

Post# 308569 , Reply# 5 12/12/2014 at 03:33 (3,420 days old) by tolivac (Greenville,NC)
Checkrate/Likes I have a beige color "R"-came from the dump I go to where I take my trash each week.How many bags do you fill up each time you vacuum your whole church with your R?This would be a big job for such a vacuum-figured you would use up a lot of bags.Many churches I knew of used NSS M1 vacuums for their cleaning-and often done by a contractor.

Post# 308600 , Reply# 6 12/12/2014 at 15:14 (3,420 days old) by suckolux (Yuba City, CA)
Checkrate/Likes Charles, such a clever sneaky little guy. Great story and pics, love the R

Post# 308658 , Reply# 7 12/12/2014 at 23:01 (3,419 days old) by ronni (USA)
Checkrate/Likes How cool is it that you were able to return to your former congregation's auditorium (or as Lutherans call it 'nave') to play the organ and relive some of your childhood vacuuming memories. You had me laughing more than once with ... ... your response to the crabby matron's question of what you were doing with HER vacuum cleaner. ... her "punishing" you by making you vacuum the WHOLE auditorium WEEKLY. ... videotaping yourself vacuuming and then walking outside to see how it sounds. ... your response to your neighbor's confusion of who was vacuuming in your house. I'm sure many collectors--no matter what they collect--enjoy their hobbies in creative ways such as you! Thanks for the day-brightener. Nice photos, too. I also have a Model R with its original paint and PN-1 that performs well.