A big shout out for a vacuum cleaner legend.

I'm very touched Hans. You've been such a great friend all these years. I both love and respect you. You and Donald are like family to Donnie and myself. You and I are just two old married guys who love vacuums and cooking and good people.

I remember when we met. I don't think I was President of the VCCC at that time yet. I had a convention in Missouri. Remember the cleaning contest? You and I took used paper bags out of machines waiting to be repaired at my vacuum shop - and threw the dirt all over my living room rug. Each person got one minute to clean their 'strip'. My Hoover 61 just chugged along - Jason Davis's Kirby model C choked and stalled the fan. I thought he was going to cry right then and there. Good times!

Clay Floyd shook my Thermax and water sprayed out the bottom. "What a Rube Goldberg invention" he said. The Lewyt "Zapper" shocked the hell out of Craig Long (Lady Beverly Whispertone). I swear I saw smoke coming out of his head. We thought Tania Voigt was going to never come back, but she laughed her ass off and has been "one of the guys" ever since.

Along all those years, we've remained good friends. Laughing at the queens and their excesses. Poking good humored fun at each other. But most of all, SHARING with each other and our friends. As they said in "Steel Magnolias": I love you more than my luggage.


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Post# 411162 7/4/2019 at 14:10 (1,758 days old) by kenkart ()
Checkrate/Likes 8 On this fourth of July I want to express my admiration and thanks for one of my very best longtime friends who has done more to make vintage vacuums and vacuum collecting the popular accepted pastime it is today,,,My friend Tom Gasko was one of the very first people I met when I became aware of a very small, obscure club called the VCCC way back in 1994, Then we were looked upon as nuts, oddballs and by many, just plain crazy,Tom became President and transformed the club from a small organization into a large community of folks, he got us national exposure in magazines, and in other media, in addition to these things he had a vacuum named after him The Tom Gasko signature Airway, which I don't think anyone has ever managed to accomplish, he has written many articles for the VDTA news and ran a museum of Vacuum Cleaners for ten years, Its a shame jealousy and spite have been directed at Tom down thru the years but he always emerges on top And im very proud to say he is my friend.

Post# 411167 , Reply# 1 7/4/2019 at 18:26 (1,758 days old) by Luxlife (Under a Pecan Tree)
Checkrate/Likes 2 *Big Shout Out!* I�ll second that! I�m so appreciative of the facts and information that Tom shares so readily and with such accuracy. It�s such a privilege to get vacuum information from an industry insider.

Post# 411218 , Reply# 2 7/6/2019 at 01:58 (1,756 days old) by hygiene903 (Galion, OH)
Checkrate/Likes I agree with what both of you! He has helped so many people in so many ways, and I'm glad to have him as a friend. And it was a pleasure to finally meet him and Donnie in person at a mini-meet a couple of years ago. Jeff

Post# 411292 , Reply# 3 7/8/2019 at 15:30 (1,754 days old) by dysonman1 (the county)
Checkrate/Likes 1 *Well shucks,* I'm very touched Hans. You've been such a great friend all these years. I both love and respect you. You and Donald are like family to Donnie and myself. You and I are just two old married guys who love vacuums and cooking and good people. I remember when we met. I don't think I was President of the VCCC at that time yet. I had a convention in Missouri. Remember the cleaning contest? You and I took used paper bags out of machines waiting to be repaired at my vacuum shop - and threw the dirt all over my living room rug. Each person got one minute to clean their 'strip'. My Hoover 61 just chugged along - Jason Davis's Kirby model C choked and stalled the fan. I thought he was going to cry right then and there. Good times! Clay Floyd shook my Thermax and water sprayed out the bottom. "What a Rube Goldberg invention" he said. The Lewyt "Zapper" shocked the hell out of Craig Long (Lady Beverly Whispertone). I swear I saw smoke coming out of his head. We thought Tania Voigt was going to never come back, but she laughed her ass off and has been "one of the guys" ever since. Along all those years, we've remained good friends. Laughing at the queens and their excesses. Poking good humored fun at each other. But most of all, SHARING with each other and our friends. As they said in "Steel Magnolias": I love you more than my luggage.

Post# 411295 , Reply# 4 7/8/2019 at 17:30 (1,754 days old) by compactc9guy (Bathurst NB)
Checkrate/Likes Wow such a touching sweet post Tom you certainly help many vacuum fan here and along the years keep it up ! Happy vacuuming .