Farmersburg barber celebrates 50 years of business
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The classic barber’s pole by the front door of Jerry Payne’s historic shop in Farmersburg at the town’s little strip mall on U.S. Highway 41 has been spinning its traditional red, white and blue colors for 50 years and counting. This summer, in Farmersburg’s town park on a day with good weather, Payne plans to have a celebration of his fifty years of successful barbering.
Barber Jerry Payne is a 1970 graduate of Wiley High School and began his barber career at a shop on North Lafayette Street in Terre Haute. Payne celebrated 50 years as the owner of his own shop in Farmersburg in March. Here, he poses for a photo in his shop recently.
Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza
“I bought my barber’s pole used for $50 when I opened my shop here on March 12, 1974,” said Payne. “In all that time, on only one day has nobody come into my place to get a cut, and that was back when I was just establishing myself in Farmersburg. When I began barbering, I charged $2.50 for a haircut. Now, I ask for $12. I’ve reduced my hours from 8 a.m. to noon, Tuesday through Saturday.”
Nowadays, Payne enjoys a steady stream of patrons — all walk-ins — who drop by his shop to trim up their looks and take in the barbershop’s conversations on a broad variety of topics.“It’s not gossip here. It’s pertinent information,” Payne likes to say.Payne is from Terre Haute and graduated from Wiley High School in 1970. He became a barber due to the influence of a Terre Haute barber, Carl Wesler, who operated a shop on North Lafayette Street for many years. Payne became acquainted with Wesler during his youth by participating in Terre Haute Boy Scout Troop 406, where Wesler was an assistant scoutmaster.“When I began thinking about a career, Carl suggested I learn to be a barber. I went to the National Barber School on South Meridian in Indianapolis, did the work for my state license, and began barbering by having my own chair in Wesler’s shop on Lafayette Street. I worked there for three years before setting up my Farmersburg business.
Barber Jerry Payne opened his Farmersburg shop on March 12, 1974 on U.S. Highway 41.
Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza
“I’m still working, and I’m 72,” said Payne. “I just enjoy talking to people. In all my years of business, I’ve only had to ask two people to leave.”Over the years, Payne has heard some interesting talk in his shop. One older customer, a man named Al House, was among the most memorable conversationalists. Once upon a time, House robbed a bank in Farmersburg and did prison time in Indiana. He moved on to Florida, where he got into more trouble and landed again in prison. Years later, during one of House’s returns to Farmersburg to visit relatives, he came into Payne’s shop to get a cut. That day, he discussed with Payne and his clientele the book he had written about his experiences in a Florida prison: “Escape from Florida Chains.” House gave Payne a copy of his book, which Payne still possesses.Two other customers who were horse-race betting junkies happened one day to arrive at Payne’s shop at the same time. The men’s conversation that day entertained Payne and his other clients with a stimulating discussion about horse-race betting strategies.
With the passage of time, Payne has noticed his clientele aging, although he occasionally gets younger customers. During his time as a Farmersburg barber, he has cut the hair of five generations of one local family — the Freezes.“Jerry’s a really nice guy,” said Joe Freeze. “There are two reasons to go to his barber shop: to get a haircut and to find out who’s doing what with whom.”
Barber Jerry Payne turns customer Steven Trotzke toward the mirror as he cuts his hair on Thursday at his barbershop in Farmersburg.
Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza
Payne has a simple philosophy regarding conversations in his barbershop: “I learned that what you say in the barber shop, you leave in the barbershop.”According to Payne, cutting hair is more or less the same now as fifty years ago, but he gets fewer requests for flattops than he did in the past. Once in a while, he gets a request to cut a design into a man’s hairline.“I don’t do tattoos and haven’t had a shave request in years,” said Payne. “A few women come in here. They get straight cuts, usually a little fuller-bodied than men’s cuts.”Payne has an impressive collection of dozens of colorfully designed porcelain shaving mugs and mustache cups on shelves that fill two walls of his shop.“I’ve been buying my mugs and cups for years at auctions and yard sales, and I’ve gotten several as customer gifts,” said Payne. “Once upon a time, people used to keep their own shaving mugs in barbershops, but that time has passed. Occasionally, people ask me to sell them a mug or a cup from my collection, but I won’t do it.”During his career, Payne has gotten some big tips. People have given him $100 bills for $9 and $10 cuts and have told him to keep the change.“One of my customers told me he wanted to give me the biggest tip I’d ever gotten,” said Payne. “He handed me two $100 bills, and I said, ‘Thank you very much.’”Looking back over his years of barbering in Farmersburg, Payne said, “It’s hard for me to say what I’d change with the life I’ve lived. I’m satisfied with the career I had.”
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