Local man helping keep art of Broom Crafting alive

SOUTHAMPTON TWP., NJ (WTXF) - It's an age-old craft that not many around the country still practice, but one local man takes the time for his works of art; brooms.

FOX 29's Bill Rohrer caught up with Broom Crafter Sam Moyer, who you can find putting the finishing touches on his very old craft on most days.

Sam rents a space attached to a former apple farm, combining broom straw from all over the world just to make the perfect outdoor broom.

He is one of just 200 Broom Crafters left in the United States.

Sam made his living as a biology professor at Burlington County College. There, he was fascinated by the genetics of broom corn. Particularly the different colors of straw the corn-like plant can produce.

"Once I had the plant I thought I could make beautiful brooms with all different colors," Sam explained, "It is a work of art."

In the forty years crafting brooms, Sam had to make a few adjustments, but the amount of time it takes to make a broom seems to stay the same.

"How long does it take to make a broom? I say all summer," he explained.

That's because broom corn takes a few months to grow and harvest. Sam is hoping this tractor attachment he is working on will help speed up the process.

Otherwise, Sam will harvest it by hand.

It's a lot of work to be done for only a hobby. Sam does sell a few brooms here and there at local farmers markets. But in the end it's the people he meets along the way who make it all worthwhile.

"People are happy with what I do and that makes me happy. I think people like something when they know who made it," he explained.