Another of the smaller broom manufacturers that contributed to the livelihood of their owners and workers was the Condon Broom Company.
The Condon Broom Company began its operation in June 1945 at 549 Main Street in Holyoke. The company occupied three rooms and part of the cellar of the Borowsky mill building, which at one time housed the former Merrick Thread Company.
The owner of the company was Arthur Condon, a sanitary supply salesman from Northampton. The brooms produced at his company were sold to industry and wholesalers. The plant's manager was Joseph Blair.
The factory was producing 55-60 dozen brooms weekly and hoped to grow production to 150 dozen. The company had two employees, one of whom, Ed Sawyer, had been making brooms for 52 years, having started at 11 years old.
Messrs. Blair and Sawyer were brothers-in-law and both had experience working for the Holyoke Broom Works and Young Broom Company.
The job from start to finish was labor-intensive. The bales of broom straw arrived in 350 to 400-pound bales. It was hand-sorted based on thickness and coarseness of the fibers, as the company produced toy brooms, household brooms, and industrial brooms. The straw was dipped in a green crystal dye to create color uniformity. It then proceeds through the manufacturing process.
The company continued operating until 1970. Mr. Blair retired in 1965 at the age of 80. The owner, Arthur Condon, retired in 1970 at age 84.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican; publication dates and pages are shown.
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