‘The barber shop’

By Patricia L. Dunn

Submitted story

In the early days, barber shops were called “Tonsorial Shops.”  The dictionary says that “tonsorial” means “of a barber and his work.”  Usually used humorously!

In the year 1915, Charles N. Luther rented the basement area from Waseca’s First National Bank to be used as his “Barber Shop.”  (Frank Sankovitz was the president of the bank at that time.)

To enter the shop, one needed to walk down the steps on the outside of the south side of the building.  A door and long windows were installed.  The steps have since been removed and the wall and step area have been closed up.

In the barber shop, there were three barber chairs with counters and mirrors behind them.  The floors were covered in linoleum.  Chairs for waiting customers were on both sides of the entry door.  There was also a deacon’s bench.

At the front (west) end of the space there was another room used at one time by Marie Eustice (Mrs. Joe) as a beauty shop.  She gave permanents and cut and styled ladies’ hair. To the immediate right of that room was one with a bathtub (claw foot of course), a chair and railing for a towel and a small mirror to see one’s face.  The charge for using the tub, water, and, of course, soap was 25¢ or 50¢. The bath was used mostly on Saturday evenings by men preparing for Sunday church services–or whatever.

The east end of the building’s basement housed the furnace and utilities.  The building custodian, George Krenke, had his shop, workbench and supplies there as well.  George made the wooden valances for the front window of the Waverly Hotel building. Since ceasing to be a hotel, the building had been turned into apartments and offices.  At work in one of the Waverly building’s front offices were Don and Jerry Welna, a pair of brothers who were both dentists.  The building was owned by Frank Conway, owner of the “Savings and Loan” business next door.

Dr. Ben Gallagher, M.D. had his office in the far east end of the bank building.  The stairs are still there and are still used today.

Harvey Larson was a longstanding co-worker to Barber Charlie.  Harvey intended to take over the shop when Charlie retired, but that never happened as Harvey died of a heart attack while ice fishing on Clear Lake one winter.

Charles brought his barber chair and mirror home when he retired and made a special place in his basement to continue cutting hair for friends and family. Some of his many  grandchildren still live in Waseca. Among them are Dave Dunn, who is on the Waseca School Board, his wife Melissa Dunn who writes for this paper and teaches at NRHEG, Barbara Buker, who owns and operates Personalized Printing and Apparel with her husband Mark in the old Didra building on the southwest intersection of Elm Avenue and State Street, and his granddaughter Jane Dunn, who owns and operates Healing Hands with Linda Grant in the Eye Doctor Siegfried Oeljen, M.D. brick house on the opposite corner from the Waseca County Courthouse.

Charlie subbed a few years for a barber in Owatonna.  And he also helped out Bob McCarthy quite a bit. Otherwise you could find him fishing on Clear Lake!