A Family Tradition - Hockaday Handmade Brooms
- kaylamcvey
- Jul 1
- 6 min read
History of Hockaday Farms
The Hockaday family originated from England, migrated into Appalachia, and by the 1860’s had made their way to the area where Highway 142 now sits. The family primarily farmed cotton but also farmed corn and soybeans.
Hockaday Brooms didn’t become an established business till the 1980's - prior to that Will Hockaday would make the brooms and give them away. Will built his equipment from scrap parts he had lying on the farm - using a photo he found in a paper as a guide. He began building brooms in 1903.
Jack Hockaday started making brooms around 1915 when he was a teenager - Jack Martin, Hockaday’s grandson, said his grandfather told him that “Older men had their starch and stiff ways - “don’t talk about yourself because everyone else is going to talk about you.”” So he rarely advertised the business.
Martin still uses the original equipment to build his brooms - he has a kicker table and broom press. The kicker table is what he uses to assemble the broom and to wrap it.
The fiber is still grown on the farm to this day and it takes roughly 200 plants to make one broom; this equates to around 2lbs of broomcorn. He said his Papaw (Jack Hockaday) “never really weighed it out. He just went by how it felt.” Martin and late wife, “Babydoll” Virginia, later made a more precise broom that they weighed out to produce a consistent product. Martin’s family only made one kind of broom that they would trade out with shopkeepers and give away as gifts at church.
The family operated 600 acres of row crop and wasn’t making brooms consistently. They lost most of the farm due to severe drought in the 80’s. At this time, Jack Martin was working offshore doing research for Texas Instruments as a deckhand. He’d make brooms and give them away to boatskippers.
Jack’s Story
Jack Martin met “Babydoll” Virginia in Bolivar, TN in the 80’s at a local bar. He heard her singing with a band and "the hair on his neck stood up." All he could do was say “hello” and that’s how it remained for around a year. The two would run across each other from time to time. Virginia toured with artists like John Mayall and Eric Clapton. She moved to the area from California to further pursue music. She began her music career at 4 years old on the Red Foley Show and was also friends with Loretta Lynn.
One night Virginia was performing at a local bar and while she was on break they ended up eating some seafood that had been brought up from the gulf with some mutual friends. Jack said that a friend of theirs, Jerry, drunkenly grabbed a handful of shrimp and threw them in his mouth. Jack said, “Jerry! You know you’re supposed to peel those?” Jerry replied, “That’s what everyone thinks! I like ‘em crunchy.” About that time, Jerry slipped and fell into Virginia and Jack. The two kissed and were inseparable after the fact.
Jack ended up calling his grandmother soon after and asked to bring her home for Sunday dinner. A bit of a rambler, Jack was in his 30’s and had never brought anyone home. Obviously this meant the entire family was going to show up - and they did. Aunts, uncles, cousins, the whole crew.
Jack asked Virginia to go on a walk out to the shop and began showing her his brooms. That day his grandfather had been carving handles. She fell in love with what they were doing. She told them, “do you know what you have here? This is true folk art.”
The two were eventually married and moved back to the farm in around ‘86. From there “Babydoll” began transforming the business. She was still singing and he was looking for what to do next. Jack had the opportunity to be transferred to California but Virginia was content where she was - so in Selmer they stayed. Babydoll was a natural marketer and left ABC Records to continue to pursue Gospel and Blues.
Jack continues to farm and has since he was 6 - “there is nothing in my soul but dirt”. He thanks God still for the opportunity to continue to farm and has a deep enjoyment in watching things grow. He and Virginia began to grow the business by doing demonstrations for homeschool groups. This sparked an idea in Virginia’s head. They rented a uhaul trailer and hooked it up to their ‘69 Cadillac Sedan Deville and drove on down to Ramer Elementary for a “Living History” demonstration. They began this in the late 80’s and have been to nearly every Middle and Elementary School in West Tennessee.
While doing this, Virginia also sang on Beale Street, toured Europe, and recorded tracks for The Judd’s and decided she was in search of a more simple path. During this time the two were living in Memphis and a Japanese news crew wanted to interview Virginia and document her lifestyle. The crew visited their home in Midtown and found Jack in the garage building brooms. The crew found this immensely fascinating and switched up the entire interview. They spent a week going in and out of the couple’s home, bought them steaks, videoed them cooking dinner, had her iron clothes, and even filmed her performing on Beale Street. During all of this, Jack was building brooms and selling them at festivals. The crew relayed that they felt very welcomed in their home.
Martin even had a run-in with one of the Allman brothers as a doorman at the Rum Boogie in Memphis; Greg was very intoxicated in a backroom and speaking poorly in front of families. Jack told Greg he was leaving and he began shouting, “Do you know who I am? What are you going to do if I don’t leave?” To Greg’s surprise, two Memphis Football Players picked him up and carried him out of the cafe.
Jack values community over competition and has met several broommakers over the years. Babydoll inspired him to share his knowledge - he’s taught with the Tennessee Art Commission’s Master Program in an attempt to “live up to her expectations”.
He carries three broom sizes Light, Medium, and Heavy. Light is 1lb, Medium is 1.5lbs, and Heavy is 2lbs. Styles occasionally vary due to being dyed differently and can have up to 12 variations throughout the three weights.
He sent in a prototype to the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone for the Nimbus 2000 though received a formal decline. However, he was featured in the Peter Pan Remake and built mops for the movie that were used on Captain Hook’s ship and has made brooms for various tv shows. Martin demonstrated at the Smithsonian Museum in the 1996 Olympics as one of the Top 12 Artists of the South and has specially made brooms for each Governor’s First Lady since Ray Blanton was in office. Blanton was friends with Jack’s grandmother and took a broom back to the Governor’s Mansion. The Tennessee Vol’s display one of his brooms in their office as well as State Representative Gant and Wrestler Jerry “The King” Lawler.
The Hockaday Handmade Broom Festival
In 1995 the Martins moved back to care for Jack’s parents, his mother passed away later that year and his father the following year. The two remained in Selmer, with Virginia’s children from a previous marriage, and started the Broomcorn Festival in 1996. They brought in around 30 folk artists and tied the Pink Palace for the Best Festival.
Virginia’s two children, Doug and Lori, are both talented musicians. Doug is a performer that plays with five different bands and toured with Mojo Buford. Lori is a Blues Singer and lives up the road in Jackson. All of Martin’s grandkids are involved in School of Rock.
Kera, Jack and Virginia’s granddaughter, and her husband are flying back and forth from Florda to learn broommaking. His grandchildren pushed Jack to start the festival again after Virginia’s tragic passing in 2015. Kera is around the same age that Jack and Virginia were when they started the festival.
So far, he has secured 20+ Folk Art Demonstrators both young and old. Blacksmiths, McNairy County’s Quilting Club, Stained Glass Workers, Basket Making, Chair Caning, Spinning, Weaving, Crocheting, Woodworking, and more. He’s placed a heavy focus on local artists and has food trucks setting up as well. He plans to have live music from 10-5 featuring Gospel, Bluegrass, Rock and Roll, and Blues. There may also be a live canon demonstration!
Jack’s grandchild, Kera - Jack has no biological children but takes in Virginia’s as his own - will be demonstrating at the festival with him. He jokes that a broom takes 5 months and 45 minutes to complete. 5 months to grow the broomcorn and 45 minutes to build it. He has hopes of attracting a younger demographic to keep the art alive. Jack hopes to create a feeling of nostalgia to inspire people to come back to the farm - “Like they’re at Grandma and Grandpa’s farm.”
The Festival is located at Hockaday Handmade Brooms, 2074 TN-142, Selmer, TN 38375 and will be taking place on September 20th, 2025. The Gift Shop can be visited during business hours and Jack can be contacted at 731-645-4823. Visit his website at https://www.hhbrooms.com/!
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