Tools of the Trade: The Homemaker’s Broom

I will begin by laying out the confession that I am not into cleaning. This, coming from a homemaker, may sound strange. I keep my house tidy, and do what needs to be done, but the mopping, scrubbing, dusting and scouring are not favorite pastimes nor can I claim them as skills. However, I love sweeping. There is something meditative in the rhythmic, methodical work of clearing the dirt and assorted bits off the floor. Because I love it, I sweep often and this makes the broom an important tool in my daily work. One year I asked my husband for a special broom as a Winter Solstice gift. I wanted a beautiful handmade straw broom with a branch handle covered in bark. We were renting an old farmhouse in a little town outside of Portland, and there was no end of mud and dirt finding its way inside. Curious how all that dirt finds a way in, isn’t it?

He found me just the broom I had imagined at a green home living store in the city. I loved my new broom. I started sweeping even more often just to appreciate its functional beauty. It was not merely a broom, but a handcrafted work of art. I hung it up on a hook in the kitchen for all to see. I loved it so much that about six years later, many of the broom straws had fallen out and the remaining ones were very short and permanently bent into a sweeping curve. By this time we were living in Eugene, and I had noticed some handmade brooms in a craft store I frequented. I asked for the broom maker’s phone number in hopes that my broom could be repaired. I was given the number for Scheumack Broom Company and talked to a man who said he would be happy to fix my broom for a very modest fee. I took my bedraggled broom to a little building in the Whiteaker neighborhood near the railroad tracks. I opened the door and found the broom maker at work using some sort of foot treadled machine to bind the brooms. He took one look at my broom and said he had made that broom, and sells them to that store up in Portland. A broom maker and his broom reunited! This was a beautiful moment.

The broom maker said he would let me choose new broom straw colors if I liked, and could carve a little face on the handle if I ever wanted down the road. He fixed my broom up so it looked brand spanking new with lovely crimson broom straws, and the only sign of its age was the smooth wearing on the top of the handle from years of my hands holding it while sweeping. I was back in sweeping bliss. After all, everyone needs a special tool for their work, whether it be a hammer, a pen, a sewing machine, a socket wrench, or a broom.

If you are curious about these beautiful broom creations, check out this local Eugenian broom artist at: http://www.broommagic.com/ and prepare to be “swept” off your feet!