The Barber
“Everything I’ve done wasn’t supposed to work” says Red. Some may say starting a restaurant in the middle of the country isn't a wise decision, but Red and Debbie can show you otherwise. But that wasn’t the only unordinary decision Red made. It was 1955 when he started the first and only barber shop inside the Montgomery Country Club.
“When I was in barber school, you could get a haircut and a shave for 25c. That was back in the 50s.”
He was 22 years old. After Red returned home from the Korean War, the government supported veterans to take a trade. So Red chose barber school. When asked why, he simply said, “It just struck me to be a little interesting.”
After barber school, Red started cutting hair at a shop on Mt. Meigs Road. Red’s friend knew a man who had some customers at the Montgomery Country Club, and that man would cut their hair on Sundays. Now there wasn’t an official barber shop there, it was only a man with some clippers in a coat closet. I guess that man was tired of cutting hair, so Red eventually took over those Sunday customers, which meant there he was, every Sunday, cutting hair in a coat closet in Montgomery Country Club.
After a while Red realized that he could make a good living doing it full time, so he approached the president of the club and asked them to build him the space for a two room barber shop. They called him crazy. No country clubs around had barber shops. But the president liked Red, and he thought he was worth the investment.
“Everything was growing you know, one step at a time.”
Working the Barber Shop in Montgomery allowed Red the ability to also take care of his farm, the land he loves most. When he and Debbie started the restaurant in 1985, they went ahead and built the red barn in the back. They wanted to have a place where people could go look around. It sat as an empty barn for a while, but once Red retired from his shop at Montgomery Country Club, it became Red’s local Barber Shop. “People talked me into it” says Red.
A lot of his customers from the country club would make the drive from Montgomery all the way to the country just to have Red cut their hair. This went on for years. Most of them have stopped coming by now, but there are a few who still do.
“On Saturday, I had a man in a wheelchair and his son. It’s a place they can come, and walk in easily. And enjoy the country too.”
Red is 87 years old and to this day he cuts hair on Saturdays from mid-morning to after lunch. He’s no dummy, so he makes sure his customers come in perfect time for Saturday lunch at the restaurant. He typically has about 4-6 customers. He’s not as active in the business anymore.
“I just mostly do it for the conversation.” Red loves the fellowship with people. No one is a stranger to him. Some of you know Red as the friendly face on Sundays greeting you at the door. Some of you know Red as the farmer who raises them turnip greens and peppers. And some of you know Red as the Barber who’s been cutting their hair for years and years. But what we all know is this: Red is one good man.
