Thread Number: 3741
Is this Royal 602 special?
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Post# 42199   6/1/2008 at 13:42 (5,778 days old) by hoover_elite_20 ()        

I was looking at this lovely Royal 602 and noticed that the rear and bag topper are painted a nice shiny blue. Is this normal? I am thinking seriously about trying to buy it. It seems to be in beautiful condition and is a good price. Should I buy?

CLICK HERE TO GO TO hoover_elite_20's LINK on eBay


Post# 42208 , Reply# 1   6/1/2008 at 14:23 (5,778 days old) by lux1521 ()        

I don't know if its special and I have seen them like what you posted a picture of in the past. If you like it buy it. They're a good vacuum, special or otherwise.

Post# 42211 , Reply# 2   6/1/2008 at 14:31 (5,778 days old) by hoover_elite_20 ()        

I think all of these blue royals are just gorgeous.

Post# 42263 , Reply# 3   6/1/2008 at 23:55 (5,778 days old) by charles~richard ()        
My Uncle Charles Richard's Blue-Motor Royal

One of the numerous vacuum cleaners my Uncle Charles Richard and Aunt Millie had was one of those Royals with the blue rear end.

I am sure I saw their Royal several times, but my most vivid memory of it was one time when when we were visiting when I was only 3 or 4 years old. (We lived in Hampton, Virginia at the time and they lived in Annapolis, Maryland, in a two-story house on the Navy base -- my Uncle was a Commander, in charge of Radio Operations at the base.) The Royal was standing in the hallway that led to the front door and the upstairs bedrooms. Fairly frequently, I would tiptoe to the corner leading to the hallway, timidly stick my head around, and peek at the Royal for just a second, and then go running off in the other direction, petrified.

Later that day, however, it became a real problem for me: It stood between me and the stairs where I had to go in order to go to bed. I would not for the life of me go anywhere near it despite the coaxings, pleadings and, ultimately, the threatenings of my mom and dad.

Uncle Dick asked what on earth was wrong, and I wailed, "I don't like Kirbys! They're scaaaaareeeey!!!"

He said, "Well, Chuckie (which everyone called me at the time), it's NOT even a Kirby! It's a ROYAL!"

But there was no convincing me. I simply would not go near that monstrous vacuum cleaner!

Finally, Uncle Dick "took the bull by the horns." He took me by the shoulders and steered me, kicking and screaming, right in front of the Royal! He said, over my hollering, "Now look! It's not going to hurt you! It's not even plugged in!"

Finally, fear gave way to curiosity once I realized it was not going to eat me alive. Uncle Dick even plugged it in and turned it on. Before you could say ROYAL, I was vacuuming the hallway with it. Then, of course, you know what happened next. I used it, and used it, and used it... I overheard my aunt make a good-naturedly sarcastic comment to my uncle as I blew past them with the Royal, headed for the living room: "Well, Richard, I guess you're sorry NOW aren't you!" He, ever the kindly one, replied with an equally good-natured chuckle, "No Mildred, it's fine. Let him enjoy it."

I remember quite a few details about it, which is quite remarkable considering it was so many years ago when I last saw it. It had a polished aluminum brush and fan housing and had a headlight. The bag was dark blue with silver and red lettering. The little cap on the front to access the belt was red with white lettering. But the thing I remember so clearly was that the motor casing was painted hammertone blue. I have never seen another one like it until seeing this photo posted here!


-ooOoo-


In 1970, my family moved to Annapolis into a house just around the corner from my uncle who had bought his own house there after retiring from the Navy. In 1975, the year after I graduated from high school, I got a job working for an area Kirby dealer rebuilding and polishing traded-in Kirbys for him to sell as reconditioned machines. I set up my own first workshop in my parents' basement and would bring home 3 or 4 Kirbys a week to rebuild. I made my own buffing wheel out of a big electric motor, setting it up on a low, narrow, wooden work-bench so I could sit down while polishing machines. (Billy Lipman is now the proud owner of that polishing rig!)

I also started fixing up and selling reconditioned Kirbys on my own - machines that I'd find at thrift shops and yard sales. (Early-series 500s were quite plentiful in those days!) My first sale was to Uncle Dick. He was visiting us one night, and was grumbling about vacuum cleaners. He said, "Millie has gone through two vacuums in six months. The new machines today really are junk! Nothing like the old days."

Daddy piped up, "You ought to see the old Kirbys that Charles has been fixing up."

My uncle's eyes lit up -- "Kirby?! I didn't know they still made those! Mother had one when I was a boy."

Mama said, "Yes, I remember it all too well --- don't forget, it was MY job to use it!"

He looked at me with a very surprised expression and said, "You mean you're fixing up Kirbys now? I remember a time when you were scared to death of Kirbys! Do you remember the old Royal that Millie had, that you were so frightened of that you wouldn't even go down the hallway where it was standing, because you thought it was a Kirby?"

(Yes, of course I remembered it very well, and regaled him with the entire episode in more detail than he had remembered, of course!)

He said, "I'd like to see one of your Kirbys."

Well, taking a cue, I went and got one that I had just finished rebuilding. It was a 514, gleaming with a fresh buff job, and all tricked out in "Sirroco" tan trim, cord and bag. My uncle just looked at it for a moment. He reached for his wallet. "How much?" he asked.

I said, a bit timidly, "a hundred dollars."

He looked at me kinda funny, so I stammered, "Well, a new one goes for about 300 dollars. This one is as good as new. I completely rebuilt it, and it has all new trim and stuff, and a new bag. So a hundred is a pretty good deal."

My uncle replied, "Son, you're an IDIOT to be selling these for a hundred bucks! My wife just burned up two machines that cost twice that much. So I am going to give you 200 for it, and I want you to promise me you won't sell them for any less than that."

Well, what could I say?!


-ooOoo-


I really adored my Aunt Millie and Uncle Dick. (They're both gone now.) They were very, very kind and sweet to me. My Aunt was the first person I came out to. Well, she outed ME, I should say. Their house was on the way to my parents' house from high school, and every afternoon I'd stop to visit Aunt Mildred and have illicit cigarettes with her!

My mom never suspected I was smoking when she smelled it on me -- she'd say, with her nose wrinkled, "Ugh - you've been over at Dick and Millie's again. How can they stand those awful cigarettes?!" (They both were smokers -- back then, it wasn't the incomprehensibly, unspeakably vile taboo that it now is.)

One day as we sat at her kitchen counter having cigarettes and coffee, somehow the subject of girls came up. I don't really know how we got on that but I certainly remembered the awful, quiet moment when Aunt Millie said, looking me straight in the eye, "Well, Charles, some boys like other boys instead of girls. And that's okay -- we're all made differently, but that's the way God made us. I know you like boys more than girls, and that's okay."

*GULP.*

Well, as those who have lived through this moment know ... WHAT a RELIEF. Someone FINALLY KNOWS.

I have to say, my Aunt Millie's attitude stood in dark contrast to my very strict, very straight-laced, very conservative, very Southern Baptist parents. (You will recall, my dad was a minister and my mom a church organist and choir director.) When I eventually came out to them, it was not quite the "Disney Moment" it was with Aunt Millie. It was more along the lines of when God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah!!

When in 1980 I announced to my family that I was moving to California, my mom burst into tears and my dad said, red-faced and angry, "You're just going to go out there and lead a life of sin." My smart-ass reply: "Well, I'm leading 'a life of sin' here -- I may as well go lead it out there, where it's accepted."

It took a long, long time for us to come to an accord, but I can happily say, we finally did. We've all come a long way. Mom and Dad truly love me unconditionally and have accepted that I am who I am, "as God made me." And they have accepted my partner (of 24 years) as a member of the family and treat him as they do their other "sons in law." They even became members of PFLAG in Annapolis, a very brazen and daring move on their parts as it meant subjecting them to being ostracized from some of their church friends.

-ooOoo-

Well, that was quite a journey wasn't it. But such is life -- an ever-continuing process of connecting the moments that, joined together by the threads of time, form the multi-dimensional tapestry of our existence.




Post# 42268 , Reply# 4   6/2/2008 at 00:22 (5,778 days old) by swingette ()        

Thats a good looking cleaner, with a good looking bag.

I have the similar Electro Hygiene #603. 350 watts and very quiet running. Lightweight too!

If you dont mind the belt removal, these also work well with tools. They dont clean carpets nearly as well as a Convertible, but they are fun to use and look smashing when polished!


Post# 42271 , Reply# 5   6/2/2008 at 00:37 (5,778 days old) by camelotshadow (Valley Village)        
Sob,,,tear falls from eye...Charles what a journey!

loved the story....certainly not a Hallmark moment
but a treasure just the same!



Post# 42274 , Reply# 6   6/2/2008 at 01:01 (5,778 days old) by hygiene903 (Galion, OH)        
Royal 602

hygiene903's profile picture
I have a 602 and love it! It's quiet, lightweight, maneuvers well, cleans well, and looks good! The only differences between mine and the one listed on ebay are that mine takes paper bags (although the outer bag on mine is the exact same design as the shakeout bag on the ebay machine) and mine has a red adjust-o-rite plate instead of blue. You can't go wrong with a Royal!
Jeff


Post# 42299 , Reply# 7   6/2/2008 at 08:57 (5,778 days old) by hoover_elite_20 ()        
I totally agree!

My related Royal 880 is so quiet, too. It also does a very good job vibrating the carpet.


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