Paul Scharf
Sam Dunning is seen here cutting the hair of Joe Lawlor during Sam's last week in business at his shop on North Ludington Street in Columbus. Sam retired on Nov. 13, leaving the city without a barber shop for the first time in memory. Lawlor said he has been coming to Sam for haircuts for 20 years, and that he "wouldn't know where else to go."
COLUMBUS – Where do you go for a good laugh, conversation with friends and – oh yes – perhaps even a haircut?
The old-fashioned barber shop, of course.
Columbus residents have begun feeling a void in this regard since the retirement of barber Sam Dunning on Nov. 13. For the first time in memory there is no longer a men’s barber shop in town.
“It’s been a lot of fun. I would have shown up just to visit if I had never cut hair,” Dunning said. “The people make the business. I like people. That is the part I am going to miss.”
Dunning operated a barber shop in Randolph from 1972 to 1980, when he moved to the small shop on North Ludington Street in Columbus.
Many of Dunning’s customers followed him to the new location. He also had loyal customers from various points, including a man who came regularly from Green Bay.
He has cut some folks’ hair for their entire lives.
“I’m working on a different generation now,” he said. “Their sons and grandsons.”
Dunning went to barber school in Davenport, Iowa, beginning in January 1962. He was an apprentice in Waupun for three years, and he remembers giving his first shave there.
“Right off the bat he said I had the touch of a blacksmith,” Dunning remembered with a smile.
Dunning then went to work on the campus of the University of Wisconsin while spending summers as a substitute for vacationing barbers.
“It was fun,” he said of his experiences in those summer stints. “That was where I decided I just wanted to have a straight barber shop. I enjoyed the people that came to the barber shop.”
Dunning concedes that the old-time, small-town barber shop might become a thing of the past. Interestingly, he said two very different obstacles exist for the modern-day barber: long hair and the cost of health insurance.
“It’s kind of a niche thing now,” he said. “Ladies can definitely cut men’s hair and do a good job. Certain men like to have a male barber.”
Dunning believes that a barber shop offers a more relaxed atmosphere than a salon. Amidst the relaxed – and at times comedic – atmosphere in the shop however, there was also lots of hard work.
Dunning arrived most mornings by 6 a.m., and worked as late as 9 o’clock some evenings. He has often worked on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings. He has always taken appointments at special times before and after his regular work schedule, and has also done house and hospital calls. He said he never had a day when he did not want to go to work.
Dunning said the demand for giving haircuts on that kind of a schedule is still strong.
“There’s a spot for a barber shop,” he said. “I wouldn’t be afraid to start all over tomorrow.”
Dunning’s last appointment was at 2 p.m. on Nov. 13 – even though the phone was still ringing early that morning with people seeking haircuts. Sam even had to turn down a requested appointment from a would-have-been first-time customer.
On the morning of his last day in the shop, he was surprised by friends bringing in coffee, punch, cake and even a certificate of excellence. Their presence, however, was really no surprise at all, as many of them gathered in the shop as a part of their daily routines.
“We solved a lot of problems in here,” he said with a laugh. “We never fired a shot!” Sam said that the conversation frequently turned to both local and national politics.
When asked if the conversation in the barber shop ever kept him from getting his work done, Dunning laughed again. “I try to stay out of it,” he said.
Dunning has rented his space with the barber pole in the window from five different owners. He will be selling off his equipment now and ending his lease.
He plans to cut hair for family members, but will not be taking any more appointments – a decision which he is very much at peace with.
Dunning is married to Kathy, and they live in the country north of Fall River. The couple has three grown children and three grandchildren, with one more on the way.
“They all turned out great thanks to my wife,” he said.
In retirement, Sam will surely miss his little barber shop – but especially will he miss his client base.
“I’m in it now for the pure fun of cutting hair,” Sam said. “They are not just customers – they are friends.”
“I was very fortunate to work for good people.”
A retirement party was held for Sam at Secret Garden – the business next door to his shop – on Friday afternoon.
pscharf@capitalnewspapers.com