Photo By Broom: A Tale of Five Generations

In 1865, at the age of 14, Gregor Broom kissed his mother goodbye and joined the crew of a merchant ship leaving from the docks at Oban, Scotland to escape his abusive father.
In 1925 Tommy Broom stepped off the train in Chicago at the age of five with his grandfather, Thomas Broom I, whom he lovingly called Da. Just as Tommy had never met his mother, neither was he destined to meet his son.
In 1965 Tom Wade Broom embarked on his journey of chronicling on film the worst the world had to offer.
Each had a plan. Each lived passionately and loved deeply.
Photo by Broom is the story of the Broom family’s 100-year journey. It is a character-driven novel spanning five generations of a Scots-Irish family, and culminating in one man, Tom Wade Broom, who dares to set aside a family tradition of seeing plans constantly thwarted to follow a dream instead.
From the shipping docks of Oban, Scotland, to the political and religiously divided city of Belfast, Northern Ireland, the Broom family then made its way to the New World during the golden age of immigration, some aboard the fatality-fated H.M.S. Titanic, and then returning full circle to Belfast. They fought and suffered casualties in two World Wars. They felt the burning pain of loss to the flu pandemic of the early 20th century. They survived the Great Depression and benefited from black-market alcohol during the Prohibition era and then later from the growth of the mobster-run gambling mecca of Las Vegas.
Through the eyes of Tom Wade Broom’s camera, we experience the problems of homelessness, the extent of the Civil Rights era from the Freedom Riders in Birmingham, Alabama to the Watts Riots in Los Angeles, California, the bittersweet return of POWs from Vietnam, many broken men from their torturous years of captivity, and The Troubles of Northern Ireland. Having a plan is important Tom Wade learned, but at the end of the day, the greater importance is having a dream. He published his in a collection of images he captured over the years. He titled it: “Photo by Broom. A Decade of Anguish in Black and White.”
At 7 Hal Horowitz began making up often humorous stories to entertain his family and friends. By high school, he was writing them as short stories and studying journalism. Hal dropped out of college to join the Air Force in 1961 and after his discharge returned to his education in business administration with minor courses in art and creative writing. He had a 32-year career in the financial world followed by a second career of 22 years as a financial recruiter, career counselor, and EQ mentor.
He has written numerous business articles for a variety of trade newspapers and magazines. He has had his short stories, The Cemetery Picnics, State Route 733, and The Elders of Bayview selected for publication in writer club-sponsored anthologies. He has also written and contributed to numerous plays and skits for private organizations and groups. Now retired, Hal is devoted to writing and traveling with his companion, Mitzi, a 10-year-old Brussels Griffon mix. You can follow his travels in his upcoming blog launching in April 2024 under the title 80 & 10. (Hal is 80 and Mitzi is, well you can figure it out.)
For your reading pleasure, Hal is proud to present his debut novel, Photo by Broom.