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Libby's Beauty Parlour 1969 was a great year! The Academy Award for Best Picture went to Oliver!, the Grammy for Record of the year went to Simon & Garfunkel for Mrs. Robinson, Neil A. Armstrong & Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. took the first walk on the moon, and Libby Weber began her career as a hair-dresser!
Maybe Libby’s new career didn’t make as many headlines as a walk on the moon, but I guarantee you one thing, her customers would agree that her name should be in lights just the same. Would you like to know how I know this? To this day, 40 years later, several of the original customers to Libby’s chair are still coming back for a trim, a set or a perm. Libby told me the story of when she began her career in her sister-in-law, Carol’s, shop. “Back when I started, we didn’t have things like blow driers and curling irons. We had no idea what those things were. We went to a hair show and the people were up on stage with these blow driers and curling irons and we had no idea what they were or how to use them. When we left, we had all kinds of blow driers and curling irons with us and our first customers when we got back became our guinea pigs.”This is just one of the many stories I heard in the short hour I spent in the drying chair at Libby’s shop. I heard a couple of stories that I’ll let Libby put in her book and won’t retell here and I heard a story of a woman who would tell Libby, “just make me look like a movie star!” And there were stories of shoes and diamonds, because a woman can never have too many shoes or diamonds! Libby has a cabinet in her shop with some mementos from her days in the business and some great things people have given her. One item in the cabinet was a can of product used with the old Wave Machines. This machine was similar looking to a drying chair, except that the clips on the top were hooked to electricity in order to give a perm or body wave without the chemicals. During this story, the lovely lady that was having her hair set told about her mother receiving severe burns behind her ear from this contraption. The burns were so extreme, she had to seek medical attention. What we ladies don’t go through just to look good!Another item in the cabinet is Libby’s own ponytail that was cut off when she was about 10 years old. She also has the text books from when she went to cosmetology school, when her son attended barber school and those from when her daughter went to cosmetology school. Libby noted that she has always liked “messing around with hair.” She said that when she rode the bus in school, she would doll-up some of the other girls on the bus and the boys would complain because she fogged them out with all that hair spray.One of the hardest things for Libby to do was to tell her ladies she didn’t want to work on Saturdays anymore. She felt so bad about closing on Saturdays, because you know, “my ladies like to look nice for church on Sunday.” It took a lot of courage, but when she asked if the ladies would mind coming in on Friday’s, they all thought it was a wonderful idea.During my time in the drying chair, there were 5 different customers in Libby’s shop, one man and four ladies. There was one common phrase from each customer, “we just love coming here!” One lady told me that coming to Libby’s is her therapy. If she is down and not felling up to par when she goes to Libby’s, it’s a complete turn around when she leaves. She feels great and has had so much fun having her hair done by Libby. Of her customers, Libby admits that she loves working with the men. “They are a piece of cake. I have customers of all ages, but the men are just a piece of cake.” Libby proudly added that her customers are her second family. Libby said she gets excited to go to work, just to see all the family. Libby joked that she’s cheap. “Hell, Wal-Mart gets $14 for a cut. I’ve had the same price for the last 3 years!” If you want my honest opinion, I don’t think too many of her customers would mind paying a little more, just so they could have their hair done at Libby’s! |
2010-08 Meeting Minutes
