Broom making is a traditional craft practiced by only a handful of people in South Carolina. Peter Werner learned to make brooms at the Folk Art Center in Asheville, North Carolina, where the traditional arts of Appalachia are preserved and passed on to a new generation of folk artists. Peter combines broom making with his passion for rivers, where he collects sticks and driftwood to use as broom handles. Of his work, Peter says, "I think the uniqueness of each of the wooden-handled brooms that I make makes a statement of where I've been in my life."
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Peter is a physical education professor at the University of South Carolina, where he teaches canoeing and kayaking as a healthy pursuit and a fun way to enjoy nature. In this video, we take a trip to...
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One theory suggests that the traditional American broom has its origins in Benjamin Franklin's beaver skin hat. In the late 1700s, Franklin received a whiskbroom from France, purchased by a friend who...