Ryan's Barber Post....

Man Ryan’s post of the barbershop really got me thinking. I showed it to my dad and he said “Now that’s what I remember”. He got a big smile on his face and started talking about his hometown in the 50’s. He remembers sitting in the barbershop with a ice cold soda talking with his buddies and barbers getting ready to lower his ears. He worked in the local Ford garage and he said he remembers late Saturday nights wrenching with his high school buddies and watching everyone cruise. He said times have really changed and places like that barbershop sure are missed. There is still a barbershop here that my grandpa, my dad, me, and my sons have all got their hair cut at. He thanks you Ryan for posting. He is not much into computers, but he still asks me every week “Anything new on the HAMB”. Thanks Ryan for taking my dad back in time and getting the honor to hear his stories.

 

Its just as cool in person , and they do a good job as well.

 

there is also Hawleywoods out west in so. cal. (costa mesa). Its the same kinda place. pabst blue ribbon on tap remember no woman allowed they dont want anyone to have to hold there tongue. look it up great place!!

 

That place reminds me of where my dad and I got our hair cut. Anyone remember Trophy Barber Shop in Baytown? The guy that owned the place was a big game hunter and had his "trophys" all over. I can still remember the sight of the polar bear in the corner.

 

Kevin gave me the best haircut I've had in years.

Now all I have to do is find a place like that 1000 miles east that will give me a Brazilian too and I'll be set.

 

My grandpa was a barber but was retired by the time I was born in 73. I remember as a kid getting my hair cut sitting in a high chair in the kitchen at my grandparent's house in Canton. I remember seeing through the living room window my cousins running around the front yard playing tag and I couldn't wait to get down from the chair. If you were good and sat still, grandpa would give you a quarter, a pat on the back you'd jump down to go play while the next cousin was called in to get his. If you were too small, he had a small booster chair made by my great granddad he'd sit you in. I remember his well used briefcase with all of his scissors, clippers, razors and other accessories. I miss the smell of the 3in1 oil he used on the clippers. Each clipper had a familiar sound. I could tell by the sound which one he was using without even looking. The scissors too had their unique sound. I'd cringe sometimes because I knew which ones were dull and likely to pull hair. I have a couple of his scissors and a couple of his straight razors along with the booster chair. I'll have to take some pics of them.
The barber shop he last worked at in the 60's is still owned and operated by the same folks. Lake June Barber Shop on Lake June Rd. in the Pleasant Grove area of Dallas. Its a larger shop than most. The wall paper, the chairs, and most of the equipment hasn't changed either. Still has a barber pole out front. Hand painted lettering on the glass. Old Coke ice box with the funny maze you have to guide the bottle neck through to get it out. One of only a few places that still use the hot lather and straight razor to tidy up the edges. If you've never experienced that, you don't know what you are missing. Hocker and Norma have been there forever and always make you feel welcome. First come first serve. Some Saturdays its standing room only but somehow the folks there manage to greet and remember the order of just about everyone who has come in. Though a lot of the clientelle speak a different language these days, its still a friendly atmosphere. I got my first hair cut there and I hope to bring my children there for their first hair cut one day.


Thanks Ryan for bringing back some great memories of child hood I nearly forgot. I think next time I go there I'll take my camera with me.

 

I just got a trim at Avenue sat. and ran into BoomBoom up there. It was a good time talking about round up and getting a hair cut.

 

I had my hair cut at Jack's Barbershop in League City,TX for over 20 years.I had my first haircut there and so did my son. Jack was a old Navy guy and his partner Eddie was a car guy (used to be in a club called the Pistons). I learned about cars and chicks in that place from the old Hot Rods up front and the Playboys in the back, not to mention all the bench racing and bullshitting around the chairs. Jack passed away and Eddie runs the place now, but it seems like it still has the same vibe. Of course, i have a LOT less hair to cut now!

 

Well I took the HAMBly advice and cruised over to Avenue at lunch and got my ears lowered by Max...havn't had my hair cut by anyone other than myself in almost exactly 10 years...I'll be back!

 

I have to respectfully disagree with the Chief here. When I lived in Austin I always trusted my coiffure to Pete Pernales at Pete's Flat Top Shop ("Where Looking Good Is Understood") on north Burnet Road. The man is the maestro of the flat top.

 

You mean theres another one?

 

Man, all that makes me wish I was living in Austin. I'll definately be looking for excuses for a few day cruise over there when the car is on the road.

Shame i have no use for barbershops though

 

Great post! Brings back a lot of memories for me as well.When I was out in Massachusetts last October for my high school reunion(#45)I stopped in to see my old friend and schoolmate George Morello at his barber shop.He was profiled in a new book about our hometown.I remember betting my first barbershop haircut at the same shop when his dad ran it.The barbershop has been in existence for over 50 years now and while George has no plans to retire yet(although he is 65)his son has been working with him for quite some time now.It is a 4 chair shop and usually they are constantly in use.
While talking he said,"Come on in and we'll talk;your hair looks like shit"and he proceeded to do in ten minutes what the barbers I had been going to couldn't achieve in a half hour or more.He has a couple of my stripe panels on his walls and I donated another one in the form of a faux license plate.
The atmosphere here is the same as it was when I first went in there at the age of 5 and it doesn't look as though it will change in the forseeable future.So if you are ever in Saugus Massachusetts(about 10 miles north of Boston)and need a haircut and some good conversation,stop by and see George and tell him I sent you.Oh yes he is also a car nut.I think the first car I striped for him was his black 50 Ford 2 door sedan with the red wheels and small hubcaps;somewhere around 1960.

 

If you're only going once a month, you're not getting it cut short enough - hippie. Seems Austin is really taking a set.

 

Blissfield has 2 stop lights, 2 barber shops and 2 beauty shops. Here's one of the barber's cars. He lives on my street and I dig it!

When I was a kid, I got my hair cut by a really tall Englishman in Toledo. He had little brit cars, it was funny to see him fit. I remember in about 1986 there was an issue of Newsweek or one of those mags that had a big 100 years of the automobile write up. There was a big spread of all these cars and in the middle was a mid 60s T bird (which I love) and it had a Michigan license plate that read BOWLES, my last name. I tried to contact the magazine to request a copy of the picture and they said it was just a freelance submission. The next summer he took my shoulder and chin length hair and turned it in to a real flat top. My mom shit. I haven't had long hair since and for 2 years nothing but the flat top!

 

This brought a smile to my face... Anybody that knew my brother "JustSteve" knew he liked man "places" One of his favorites was Dick's Barber Shop, and meeting up with his friends or taking his boy's as he said "To to get Dicked". A real traditional place.

The one I frequented was really cool, Once you were "in" you could get a shot from a mason jar of real Kentucky Moonshine , Talk Harleys, Look at Sturgis nudie photos, talk muscles cars, hotrods, local politics, news etc. One of the barbers had heart trouble and they eventually brought in a replacement.......A Woman, not necessarily a bad thing but the vibe changed.

Barber Shop's, are one of last bastion's of traditional man hang-out's.

 

All I can say is you guys are lucky. I need a trim like no body's business right now and am looking for a good place.
Would this be a good time to have a thread on different hairstyles?

Mike

 

Heres a shot of the Barbershop from Congress in the 30s - it hasn't changed a whole lot since then. You still can grab rock star parking for your old jalopy up front.

a good tight shot of the facade, and original owner, Mr Woodland is up at a page I put together at http://www.avenuebarbershop.com/

We're putting together Avenue barbershop T-shirts and pomade by the time you guys get here, too - so come check it out - you bald guys wear T-shirts, right? maybe you need a shave?

 

I use a guy here in town who's been running the same shop, same tools, same chairs etc....since 1957!!

He's cool....and cheap!

 

I drove the shoe up to my barbers last summer. It was awesome to hear the the stories the old timers had to tell . We are everywhere .We have always been everywhere .HAHA . Time capsule for sure . go KAt go . swaZZie

 

Anyone know of a place near or around the San Fernando Valley?

 

better make it that new-fangled, water-based stuff ala Hawleywood's Layrite. that stuff is the best.

 

Mel's barber shop in hermosa USED to be the spot...
Mel was a beatnik poet type dude but mexican style...soft spoken and a soft touch...still havent found a haircut as good.
Bobby was more of a pachuco smartass...goatee and rose colored prescription ray bans...a little rough but you left looking sharp as a tack.
the third guy was the suavisimo guy...slacks and sharp shoes and a sharp shirt with a coiffed and hairsprayed 'do...he couldnt cut hair to save his life, but he was a nice guy.

you had better planned on being there for a while if you walked in. once those three clowns got going at each other, your haircut and everyone else waited for them to finish. there's nothing like a bunch of well seasoned, quick-witted, smart asses that seem to have known each other since television was new. its was like watching an episode of the three stooges cut with some rat pack banter.

mel had two sets of clippers, flathead and cadillac. one set vibrated and made this rackety clacking noise, the other put off a gentle hum and you almost didnt know they were there.

that straight razor always left things slick as a whistle and the sizzling tingle of a little mystery green tonic.

i used to look forward to every trip.

mels gone now and his shop is sold.

 

I would love to see something like this in Vancouver, it would go over well, good thing i have all these stacks of cash in my mattress. Starting to give me ideas.

 

This post hit home , The Boulevard Barber Shop on 6th and Charleston here in Vegas . It is owned by Bob White ,a good friend since 1956. He is a former partner in a top fuel car from the early 70s and still has an appreciation for gearheads . You can smoke and there is always a cold beer in the fridge and the "F" word allowed. I believe his shop is the last bastion of male chauvanism however things do get quiet when a child or real woman comes in . Many a tall tale has been spun in his chair and his clients range from Dr. Crapincan to lawyers , judges ,police and prominent local businessmen , the tinker the tailor and the candlestick maker and an occasional wino has been known sweep his lot . It is a cross section of a small town group of friends that have found this oasis in our ever expanding city , a place to gather , keep up on news of old friends,enemies , girlfriends or where the best deals can be made on anything,from land ,cars and jobs .

 

yep I get my high and tights done at Ron's barbershop in Florissant,Mo my home town, drove the rod up there a couple of times. He was a Navy barber on ship in WWII so he knows his flat tops,and high and tights and such sings in a barbershop quartet and all.This guy can cut some hair as I am very particular with my head. everything in this shop is like 1962 from the B&W t.v to the coat rack and gotta love the straight razor at the end.I'm going tomorrow so its fresh on Friday for the weekend!

 

All this talk of barber shops reminds me of the business venture I've been thinking about doing.
I want to open a day spa for young women where I can do bikini waxing and give them facials.

 

Yeah I tried that but couldn't convince them on my facials though! j/k.