Photo Karen Graham
Joe has owned and operated the Barber Shop in town for 51 years.
You know the shop is open well before you can see it because of the music.
It’s his trademark, which has been known to ruffle a few feathers but for the most part is a much appreciated ingredient to the atmosphere in the village. Joe’s musical tastes are eclectic, running the gamut from country, show tunes, early rock, opera and classical. The songs piped into the street are delivered via a machine that holds 200 CD’s, which provides music for the month. He has cassettes, reel-to-reel and vinyl recordings in the shop which are not practical. Keeping the turntable occupied would interrupt his work, and the tiny hairs from his customers would damage the surface of the records.
Joe learned to cut hair growing up in Calabria in southern Italy at twelve years of age. The profession has served him well. In 1963, he opened a salon in Oshawa where he provided hair styling services to both men and women. Many of his customers came from Millbrook, and he was curious about this town. On his first visit he was struck by the friendliness of the town. It felt like his new home. In 1973, he purchased the property on King St. where he still operates today. He had hoped to move into the apartment above the shop with his new wife, but she would have none of it. Pregnant with their first child, she was not interested in bringing up a family in such close quarters. It would take seven years for Joe to find the right spot to allow the family to move to the area, when he found a farm in Cavan where he and his wife raised their four children.
Over the years, Joe has had a number of “side gigs” in construction and as a fence arbiter for the township. He also spends a great deal of time in his garden. In addition to the large area dedicated to vegetables, is an orchard and a vineyard which produces grapes for his home-made red wine. While he has been known to produce giant zucchinis- one measuring 79 pounds- he delights in the small details of gardening. He has grafted his fruit trees to produce his preferred varieties and is currently nurturing pear seeds in his store window which are destined for the orchard. The only compromise in the garden in recent years has been a reduction in its scale from three acres to its current size of 1.5 acres.
Men’s hairstyles are more straightforward than women’s, so these days Joe sticks to male customers, cutting hair and shaving beards. Men are also more spontaneous about their hair, so many of his appointments are walk-ins. Over the years he has enjoyed the challenge of working with the 4th Line Theatre, who send him actors looking to achieve a vintage look. Joe has seen many styles over the years, and understands how to make hair behave, but admits that sometimes hairlines and hair textures require compromises to achieve the desired look.
He is often asked about his plans for the future – thinly-veiled inquiries about when he will retire. Owning the building gives Joe more control over his operations, as evidenced by his opening hours of three days a week. He explains that he will retire when he is called “upstairs”, pointing to the heavens. It’s not likely to happen any time soon, he says with a grin, because he has provided the wrong phone number. Happy Birthday, Joe! KG
