I do believe that many experiences from my youth added to my decision to go my own way and
live as freely as possible. I grew up in a small village of less than 700 people. As I
have posted before, having a paper delivery route in my early teens allowed me to easily
know the names of every family in every house in town. My daily job also gave me a few
coins in my pocket.
One of the delivery spots on my daily route was the old Barber Shop on the west end of
Main Street .. also called Central Avenue on the street post signs. The Barber Shop was a
small dark brown two story brick building .. the shop on the first floor .. and the
apartment where the Barber and his wife lived, on the second. There was a colorful lighted
revolving glass barber pole mounted on the front of the shop.
As you walked up the three concrete steps in front of this place you’d see the massive oak
door entrance with the big brass door handle .. it also had a full length oval glass
window. Once you stepped inside you’d usually hear people talking and laughing. The room
had a high moulded tin-type ceiling .. two hanging lamps .. two barber chairs with leather
straps hanging along side for sharpening straight razors.
Along side the mirror behind the barber chairs was a massive arrowhead collection,
hundreds .. or even a thousand arrowheads ranging from small bird points to larger spears
almost a foot long. They were all mounted in glass display cases with felt backing
suspended on the wall like big picture frames. These arrowhead displays filled the entire
wall space behind the chairs except where there were mirrors.
On top of the mirrors was a shelf that extended along the entire width of the room. Lying
on this shelf were intricate wood carvings … a carved wood chain with links that stretched
the width of the room.
Also, there were carved wooden cages with wooden b~~~~ inside .. I could never figure out
how those were carved .. almost like a ship in a bottle. The Barber also collected old
clocks .. mostly mechanical ones like Cukoo-Clocks or others with animal eyes that moved
right and left .. along with a tail that swung like a pendulum.
Opposite that wall was the row of leather chairs for waiting customers .. and on the wall
just to the side of those chairs was “the snake box”.
Yes, the barber was also the local snake catcher and often had a scary looking partly
coiled timber rattler in that large cage waiting for his future home and handler. It was
all on the up and up … back then .. each community had someone who would help with this
critter situation. If a farmer had trouble .. he would call for help. The large wooden box
was mounted on the wall suspended by chains .. about three feet across and covered with a
mesh screen on top and glass window in front. It added to the room and stimulated
conversation .. to say the least. I usually kept my distance.
On the back wall of the Barber Shop were two swigging doors .. full length with small
round glass porthole windows in each. As you walked into that back room .. you’d see the
room where I spent a fair amount of time .. also, spending some of my earnings from my job
with the newspaper. I quit asking if the back room was open, always got the same answer
.. “I don’t see a lock”.
Inside, to the left of the door was a old Wurlitzer juke box that played 45’s.
Directly ahead was a full size pool table that you could use for free ..
it had a green shaded hanging lamp above the play field
.. that you usually had to turn on, yourself.
Off to the right side of the room were two pinball games standing back to back
.. one a regular style and the other a baseball pitch and bat style
with two chrome buttons for pitching and hitting.
On the back wall of this room was my favorite place .. an old Coke soft drink machine ..
an old beaten up leather chair .. and directly to it’s left .. the best pinball game.
The pop machine had a chrome handle you’d press down after putting in two dimes ..
and a window to open and pull out the glass bottle. There was a wooden box for the
empties leaning on the wall.
The pinball game was a Captain Fantastic .. you could put in one quarter for three
games .. and it would reward you extra bonus plays if you had a good night. With some
concentration .. you could play a long time on a single quarter.
The juke box gave three songs for a quarter and you could stretch out your second and
third choice to last for a whole hour if you wished .. put in the coin, select one song,
play some pinball .. and return later to pick your next tune.
That old game room behind the barber shop was there for several years, I’d say about four
years .. before the place was finally sold by the barber and turned into apartments. I
believe the barber owned the soda vending machine and pool table .. as far as the pinball
games, they just seemed to be stored there for several years .. during the entire time I
was in junior high .. and available for anyone who would part with a dime. I have no clue
who owned them .. possibly, the barber’s son.
Of all the times I went to that room .. behind the shop .. I never remember one
other person there .. it was used so infrequently that I had to plug in the pinball
machine and juke box when I arrived. The electrical cords were draped over the machines
and I brought them back to life. The Soda machine was always running .. the drinks were
cold. That made it special .. nearly always available, whenever the barber shop was open
yet, forgotten and essentially a game storage room open to anyone at the barber shop ..
with a working soda machine.
Some good memories of my childhood were spent there .. alone .. a pit stop on my way home
after delivering newspapers in the winter,
sometimes, a glass bottle of soda sitting on top of the play field of the favorite machine
… and finally, shooting some free pool
that is, when my dollar ran out.
Unplugging the machine .. and turning out the
light with the green shade over the table.
Daryll55 10 months, 2 weeks ago.
