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ARCOLA — The Thomas Monahan Co. has been celebrating its centennial and reflecting on its foundation when Arcola hometown was known as “Broomcorn Capital of the World.”
However, the family that is in its fifth generation of owning and operating this manufacturer of cleaning tools said the key to the company's longevity has been its abilities to evolve and look to the future.
"If we would have stayed in the broomcorn business, we would not still be in the business," said Pat Monahan, co-owner of the Monahan Partners mop division, as he noted changes in broomcorn sourcing and broom fibers over the decades. "If we had not been willing to change with the times and always look for new opportunities, we wouldn't still be around."
Brothers Pat, Tim and Jim Monahan are shown in front of a photo of their father, Thomas F. Monahan, on Wednesday in The Thomas Monahan Co. headquarters office. 202 N. Oak St., in Arcola.
The Thomas Monahan Co., which now produces a variety of cleaning supplies for home and commercial use, has roots that stretch back to Irish immigrant Patrick Henry Monahan settling in Arcola and starting in business as a broomcorn broker in 1867. Brokers would match crops of broomcorn, a type of sorghum known to have strong, durable fiber for sweeping, with the particular demands of broom manufacturers.
Monahan Partners reports in its company history that Patrick Monahan turned his brokerage firm over to a cousin, Thomas Lyons, in 1871 and it became known as The Thomas Lyons Co. by 1875. Patrick and Hannah Monahan's son, Thomas F. Monahan, later went to work for Lyons, purchased this business in 1922, and renamed it The Thomas Monahan Co.
"At that time, nearly 14,000 tons of broomcorn was raised each year within a 10-mile radius of Arcola. The town that was known as 'The Broomcorn Capital of the World,'" the company history reports.
Thomas Monahan Co. employee Jim Hampton is shown Wednesday pressing plastic caps onto fiberglass mop stick handles in the company's assembly plant in Arcola.
Thomas F. and Lillian Monahan had two children, Mary and Thomas Jr., and they both became actively involved at the company, with Thomas Jr. becoming president in 1939. The history reports that the company expanded its presence into broomcorn growing areas in the western U.S.; and diversified into brokering wire, twine, bands, and handles for broom manufacturers during that era. Thomas Jr. and his wife, Mary Cunningham, eventually had four boys of their own, Tim, Pat, Joe and Jim.
“In high school, or even in late grade school, we worked in the warehouses during the summer, unloading broom corn,“ Jim Monahan said in the company history. “In high school, we were sent to some of the broom corn growing fields in Colorado, Oklahoma, and South Texas. We grew up around broom corn and were into the broom and mop business ever since we were old enough to think about it.”
Jim Monahan said their father always told them that they could join the company but would have to find their own niches there and could not be "free riders." Jim took the responsibility for The Monahan Company’s handle business, now known as Handles, Inc., expanding its domestic and international sources for wood and starting a metal handle operation that the company later sold in 2009.
Thomas Monahan is pictured showing a customer bales of broomcorn in this archival photo.
The company history reports that Tim Monahan pioneered a method, RediCorn, for selling broomcorn presorted by grade, length, and color into bales to broom manufacturers. He also invented and patented a plastic broom insert, allowing a broom to be wound on the insert and shipped without a handle. He continues to lead The Thomas Monahan Co.'s Monahan Filaments and Brush Fibers, Inc. subsidiaries.
"It's nice knowing we have ben able to go this long as a company and the only way we have gone that long is to have good principles," Tim Monahan said of the examples set by their forebears.
The brothers said those principles include building good relationships with their customers, treating their employees like family and developing many long-term staff members, and providing community service in their Arcola hometown, where Joe Monahan is also involved through his work in the banking industry.
Brothers Tim, Joe, Jim, and Pat Monahan are pictured with family friend, Dee Lindenmeyer, as they take part in a broom contest in 1950 in Arcola.
Tim Monahan said it also helps that he and their brothers get along well and have gotten to see the business enter its fifth generation. Tim’s sons Jon, Matt and Chris work for Monahan Filaments/Brush Fibers; while Pat’s son, Kevin, runs Monahan Partners.
"It's a pleasure coming in everyday, seeing my brothers, and finding out what they are up to and what their kids are up to," Pat Monahan said.
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Contact Rob Stroud at (217) 238-6861. Follow him on Twitter: @TheRobStroud
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Rob Stroud is a reporter for the JG-TC, covering the city of Mattoon, Lake Land College, Cumberland County and areas including Oakland, Casey and Martinsville.
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Brothers Pat, Tim and Jim Monahan are shown in front of a photo of their father, Thomas F. Monahan, on Wednesday in The Thomas Monahan Co. headquarters office. 202 N. Oak St., in Arcola.
Thomas Monahan Co. employee Jim Hampton is shown Wednesday pressing plastic caps onto fiberglass mop stick handles in the company's assembly plant in Arcola.
Thomas Monahan is pictured showing a customer bales of broomcorn in this archival photo.
Brothers Tim, Joe, Jim, and Pat Monahan are pictured with family friend, Dee Lindenmeyer, as they take part in a broom contest in 1950 in Arcola.
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