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By Mary Jo Ktzl
The red, white and blue stripes don't spiral up and
down the traditional barber's pole hanging in front of
Henry Larabee's barber shop. The spring rotating the pole
broke several years ago and Larabee never bothered to
repair it.
Lack of flashy advertising to catch the attention of
prospective customers hasn't hampered much business at
the tiny, cluttered barber shop tucked away off 11th and.
B streets. In the old-fashioned corner barbership tradition,
Larabee's shop, The Golden Rule, still draws its share of
business.
"It's all I want at my age," Larabee, 72, said about the
barbership 's clientele. "Days gone by have seen a brisker
business, according to the owner-operator. I'm not as near
as busy as I should be," he said. "I don't know why."
Larabee's neighborhood shop, reminiscent of the
corner barber shops in "the good old days," is a far cry
from the modern, streamlined beauty salons of today. The
shop has a casual schedule, open four days a week, closed
Sunday through Tuesday. Appointments are not
necessary; customers can walk in and look over the shop
or visit with Larabee's dog, Hank II, if they have to wait
for a haircut.
Shops specialize
Beauty shops are like doctors, Larabee explained, be
cause these days they specialize in certain services.
"They're trained for that," he -said. "That's a sales
pitch. It's getting to be a rip-off wherever you go now.
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A haircut costs $2 at Larabee's shop. He charges from
$3 to $5 for what he terms 'longer than average hair."
Larabee also offers a whole range of services, including
hair coloring, facials, permanents and scalp treatments.
The two-chair shop where Larabee operates is packed
with items ranging from barbering equipment to souvenirs
from vacation spots. When business is slow, Larabee passes
time reading or touching up his shop.
Color photographs clipped from magazines cover the
few empty spaces on Larabee's cluttered walls. He dis
plays many pictures from beauty magazines, pointing to a
picture of a neatly-groomed man underneath a sign pro
claiming, "it pays to look well."
A white porcelain sink bought from a downtown hotel
sits prominently between the two barber chairs. The
ornate, guilded cash register clinks out a metallic ring
when its old-fashioned keys are pressed.
"Most everything in here is antique-the register, me
too," Larabee said with a chuckle. .
"Not fast
"I don't work too fast," Larabee explained, carefully
peering at the trim he was giving four-year-old Jason
Mitera, who sat grimacing in the barber's chair. "I've
learned to not work fast -except in emergencies," he
added after a pause. :
Larabee said he has been in the barbering business since
he was 12. His shop has been at its residential location for
more than 30 years and is patronized mostly by neighbor
hood business. Larabee is the only barber in the shop.
Long-haired students and women are not among
Larabee's regular clientele, although Larabee said he
thinks long hair is all right if it is kept up. -
"Have you. ever tried to work with a bunch of
women?" he asked. "They're headaches."
Go sing operations are short and simple. Larabee takes
down the "open" sign, covers the barber chairs and turns
off the lights before shuffling off for home a half block
away. , .
If his shop is ever removed, Larabee said he 21 open a
barber shop on the sun porch of his home.
"People come and go now. I used to know more," he
said, looking out the shop window at the traffic passing
by.....
Story by Mary Jq Pitzl
Photos by Scott Svoboda
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