However, after 6 years of marriage, and two children; Pat’s husband died of a brain tumor. Pat moved back to Panama City with her two little daughters. Life is not easy for a single Mom.

A couple of years later Pat heard that Barry Brannon had his own shop and was cutting hair. Pat went to see her old flame. They talked for six hours; Pat became a customer; their friendship rekindled; and, they have now been married for 28 years and one more daughter.

Pat had always wanted to be a teacher. Indeed; at age 13 she was a Sunday School teacher at North Bay Baptist Church. Pat even went so far as to get her AA from Gulf Coast Community College… at age 42.

In the late 80’s Pat’s niece showed Pat how to weave baskets. Pat enjoyed the hobby and took right to it. She made all sorts of baskets. In the later 90’s she took an interest in brooms. A friend went to John C. Campbell Folk School and took a broom making class. She brought one to Pat’s niece.

Pat had never seen anything like it before. It was mesmerizing with its intricacy. Pat just had to find out how to do that. She found a catalogue and went to a class at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC, near Murphy NC. That was 1998.

On her 1st visit Pat met a man who had lived with Shakers as a child. Shakers are credited with making the first “flat” brooms. Prior to the flat broom; brooms were round, and usually did not have a stick handle.

Pat’s classes were from a teacher by the name of Marlow Gates. His style of broom making was dramatically different from the broom Pat had seen. It was far more artistic and intricate. Marlow’s father had been a scientist for NASA. His father had resigned his job at NASA to go sit in the mountains of North Carolina and make brooms.

During this time, Pat had been weaving baskets. She’d gotten involved with a basket weaving guild based in Lynn Haven. Emily Warnberg still has the shop, Down The Lane at 1305 Florida Ave. in Lynn Haven. You can contact them if you are interested in lessons or supplies.

Through Down The Lane Pat was invited to participate in an art and historical festival called Nature’s Gallery which was held in St. Andrews State Park. People could come and see Pat actually make brooms. So, Pat and her entourage dressed the part in attire consistent with the mid 1800’s. The event was successful; and Pat participated more than once in the event.

Then, Pat was invited to go to Lumpkin, Georgia where there is an attraction called Westville. Westville is a living history village set in the 1850’s. Westville is open year around; for a small fee folks can see how people lived before the civil war.

Pat became a woman of the mid 1800’s at the village. She was stationed at a cabin and made brooms. On one of Pat’s visits, Indians attacked the community. Pat repelled them from her cabin with a broom.

Pat just chuckles about viewing this period correct village and seeing a flat straw brroom from Wal-Mart in a kitchen next to the wood stove. So, Pat taught several staff members to make their own brooms so the village would always have a ready supply of “old fashioned brooms”.

Oh, Pat met former President Jimmie Carter on one of her visits to Westville. Plains, Georgia is not too far from Lumpkin. So, on more than one Sunday morning Pat and Barry went to the Baptist Church in Plains. They even attended Sunday School taught by none other than Jimmie Carter. They even have a photo of themselves with Jimmie and Rosalynn. In chatting with Rosalynn, Pat mentioned her mother made a peanut soup which she named Jimmie Carter Soup. Rosalynn even asked Pat for a copy of the recipe.

Now, in this day and age of Formica, or solid-surface counters; and stainless steel appliances, we have no concept of how women cleaned their homes before WWI. As a matter of fact, the broom making machine was not invented until the late 1800’s. And, to begin with, manufactured brooms were only available in the “big” cities at first. In the 1800’s and earlier, women made their own brooms. Many used sage, a common plant in North America. Others grew “broom-corn” in their gardens. Supposedly, Benjamin Franklin brought “broom-corn” to the U.S. Broom corn is heavier and stronger than sage. It works better and lasts longer.

Back in the day, homes did not have lawns. A house with weeds around it was considered to be occupied by lazy folks. Yards back then were swept clean to the sand or dirt. Yard brooms, made of thin sticks were used. A swept yard would expose snakes, who like to travel in the grass and tracks of any coming to the house.

Women would weave, or tie the broom corn stalks to a stick. Broom corn has a tassel, just like regular corn silk. Only the tassel is thicker and heavier. And, when dried it is much stronger. It could take 30 to 40 stocks of corn to provide enough broom corn to make a broom. Women also made several styles of brooms; one for sweeping; one for getting cob webs from the ceilings; one for brushing clothes; still another was a crumb broom for sweeping crumbs off the table.

Today, Pat’s brooms have been displayed in museums; they’re on display at the John C. Campbell Folk School; they’re on display, and used at Westville. Pat also sells her brooms on occasion. They sell for from $15 to $95, and most are made upon request, often utilizing a piece of wood of significance to the owner as the handle. Today most of Pat’s time spent making brooms is actually spent instructing others in this ancient art. A class taught by Pat’s instructor, Marlow Gates will be held on Thursday, March 27, 2008 here in Panama City. If you have an interest, call Pat at 850-596-6679 or email her at wovenintime@hotmail.com. We hope you’ve enjoyed meeting The Broom Lady. If you know of someone you think others would enjoy hearing of, write to Editor, FiftyPLUS.biz, P.O. Box 1494, Lynn Haven, FL 32444 or email editor@FiftyPLUS.biz.