Monday, May 5, 1997
Barber Shop Quartet
Photographer tours local barber shops
Photos and Story by David S. Spence
Strolling through downtown State College, a person can get a sense
of an old-time atmosphere. The tiny shops and family-owned stores
dot College Avenue, all surviving because of the mammoth institution
across the street, with all its students and alumni, who converge
every fall on this quaint little Pennsylvania town. Among these
stores are four distinct businesses that refuse to bend to the
modern ways of society, but strive to continue the age-old profession
of a barber.
The first stop on my State College barber shop tour was the grand-daddy of them all, Rinaldo's Barber Shop, 107 S. Allen St. Walking
into this seven-chair shop is like walking back into history.
The shop, which opened in 1925, is on its third owner, Wayne Britten.
Larry Bowmaster, a barber at Rinaldo's, said the shop is the same
as it was in 1925. The seven chairs are all the original chairs,
each made of cast iron and porcelain. Bowmaster comments that
during football weekends, people will come in and think it is
a "working museum" because it looks old, as if it came
right out of the 1920s.
My next stop was a small, one-chair shop a few paces down Allen Street, and up a flight of stairs. This shop, Madden's Barber Shop, 111 S. Allen St., sits above the stores and streets of State College. Owned and operated by Elmer Madden, it is the quintessential barber shop. Walking in, my ears perk up at the sound of G. Gordon Liddy's voice coming from the radio. On the TV, which has the volume turned all the way down, is CNBC, with its ticker tape running across the bottom. Along the walls are pennants of each Big Ten school. Madden himself is dressed in a shirt and tie. Madden's just screams barber shop.
After spending the better part of a day at the two previous barber shops, I decided to wait until the next day to continue my tour. The next day brought more barber polls and hair littering the floor. Fetterolf's Barber Shop, 234B E. College Ave. was next on the tour. Entering, I noticed that three of the four chairs were operated by women, one of them being the owner, Donna Weaver. In the back of the shop hangs, in tribute, a caricature of the former owner, George Fetterolf. Along the walls are pieces of what Weaver calls a "special decor" -- old paintings and trophy fish. All kinds of people come into this barber shop, including women.
The last barber shop I was to descend upon was Phil's Barber Shop,
105 S. Pugh St. Strolling into Phil's, owned and operated by Phil
Knapik, Rush Limbaugh's burlesque voice resounds throughout the
shop. Around the mirror, in front of the barber chairs, are numerous
and varied beer cans. On top of a can of peanuts on the counter
sits a sign which reads, "No mushroom cuts or under cuts". Phil's Barber Shop has three chairs, but only one is used,
a sign of the times for barber shops. The others are left empty,
except for a stack of books on the last chair.
Throughout my little venture into the realm of "genuine"
barber shops, I was reminded of the fact that individuals and
businesses that reflect the American dream still exist, that people
can still own a business. The barber shop is one of the last areas
in the American economy where the "old-school" way of
doing things is the only way to do things. At each of these shops
an individual can get his or her hair cut for under $10, a good
deal in the high-priced world we live in today.
Layout by Molly K. Fellin and David S. Spence
