The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, December 01, 1976, Page page 6, Image 6
daily ncbrcskan ! I Si ft ! 1 -4i IT-a 1L p ays to Id On 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. i r 'dTd mm 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 3r 86 v . . ... : '.. v" i- - . r -2 . I x ! s --. 4 i