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Baca County Festivals and Fairs: Part 1
I will probably work at adding to this in pieces, maybe in the form of a timeline, but I thought it would be fun to start looking at various festivals and fairs held in Southeast Colorado/ Southwest Kansas/ Baca County through the years. Sam Konkel mentions an 1888 fair in Boston, Springfield, and Minneapolis, but there isn’t…
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The Challenge of the Broomcorn Harvesting Machine
“No machine has yet been invented to successfully replace the hand labor. The men, using broomcorn knives with sharp five-inch knives, move down rows in a field, bending the heads or brush with one hand and cutting the stalk about six inches below the bottom part of the brush with the other hand. “ -Pueblo…
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The Rise and Fall of the U.S. Broom Industry
Rise and Fall of the US Broom Industry is an overview of the broom & broomcorn industries in the U.S. The foundation for this post was provided to me by Sam Moyer Ph.D. He gleaned much of this from BROOM, BRUSH & MOP, (especially Tim Monahan’s 1986 review) Sam Moyer, Ph.D. My updates specifically focus…
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Did Ben Franklin Really Have a Key Role in Bringing Broomcorn to America?
In the talks I have given about broomcorn I have always mentioned that Benjamin Franklin is often credited with bringing broomcorn to America in the 1700s. This concept is usually presented as fact, but it turns out that whether this is true or not is actually up for debate. I introduced you to some of…
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Broomcorn Research Progress 2007: by Dr. Sam Moyer
Reposted with Permission by Dr. Sam Moyer. Although there hasn’t been broomcorn production in Baca County for many years, there actually has been quite a bit of research done in the not so recent past. My newest broomcorn acquaintance is Dr. Sam Moyer, a geneticist and a broom maker from New Jersey. Dr. Moyer has…
