JSvolfan,
I will join the chorus of folks who have said they are glad no one was seriously hurt.
Those Estes launch rods are handy for packing into small boxes. And that's about it. They break if you bump the rod the wrong way, sometimes if you just look at it wrong.
Go to your local hobby shop (one that is fully stocked with balsa, spruce, and model airplane building supplies) and look for a piece of 'music wire'
Music wire is tempered steel and is much stronger/stiffer than the soft iron rod that the hardware store sells ('round rod'). It comes in three-foot lengths and in many diameters. You should be able to find 1/8th inch with no problem. While you are at it you should get a piece of 3/16 and 1/4 too.
Since it is in one piece, there is no weak spot in the middle. There are no edges to align, or to snag a launch lug. Being hard-tempered, it may have some burrs at the ends----you will want to use a file to trim them off.
Mostly, if you have kids at your launch, you should seriously consider buying/making/adapting a launcher that stands up off the ground (like on a tripod). There are several advantages, like it is easier to hook up igniters without crawling around on the ground. There is a big reduction in the hazard of motor sparks spitting off into the grass and causing a launch-site fire. Mostly, a launcher base that is three or four feet off the ground means that the tip of a three-foot launch rod is over the heads of just about everyone.
Otherwise, with a launcher on the ground, when kids get excited and run back to the launch site, the rod tip is dangerous. It is forgotten (momentarily), nearly invisible, and at the perfect height to poke into a child's face. I won't tell you how many times I have bent over a launcher, knowing the rod was there, and poked myself anyway.