BROOMS continued from 22 like plant with stiff flowering, seed-bearing brush. From this initial experiment, the broomcorn was a gardening novelty in Philadelphia. Then in 1797, a man who had raised half an acre of the broomcorn began to make and peddle brooms. Skilled workmen began to produce the improved brooms and it became an important industry, providing housewives help with sweeping and dusting floors and cobwebs. Many people remember the Cullum Broom and Mop Company in Helmsburg, so it is good to have a broom making operation back in Brown County. A couple months ago, Newton won second place in a national Craft Broom Contest. Custom brooms with choice of brush colors and handles are available, along with whisk brooms, household floor brooms, “cake-testers,” handsized table-sweepers for crumbs, and cobweb brooms. And how did the shop get its name? Newton tells how broomcorn harvesting requires a lot of hand labor. The man who did this specialized work was known as the “Johnny.” Broomcorn Johnny’s, a working broom making shop, is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., seven days a week.
(Sample Tasting)
Prints, Jewelry, Frames, Metal Signs and Gifts
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24 Our Brown County • Jan./Feb. 2013
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