A man of few words, a life-long Collingwood resident and barber might be familiar to some and keeps his mouth shut about what happened within his barber shop’s walls.
For this week’s edition of People of Collingwood we sat down with Al Brown, 82, former owner of Al’s Barber Shop.
Q: How long have you lived in Collingwood?
A: I was born here. My childhood home was on Sixth Street.
Q: You had your own barber shop, Al’s Barber Shop on Second Street. What led you to a career being a barber?
A: It was a job.
Q: What made you want to start your own business, instead of cutting hair at somebody else’s?
A: I wanted the money in my pocket.
There were a lot of barbers in Collingwood. Next door to my shop, there was another shop. Everybody kind of did their own thing.
Q: How long did you own the barbershop?
A: Quite a while. Probably 10 to 12 years. I started it in 1968.
Q: Do you have any interesting stories of things that happened at the shop? Any interesting regulars?
A: We had a funhouse. We would kid all the time.
There were bad jokes. You don’t want to hear them.
We built a clientele.
I never got rich at it, but there was always something to do.
Q: What did you enjoy about cutting hair back then?
A: Everyday was a new day.
Q: Do you have any funny stories from the barbershop?
A: Oh yes.
Q: Can you tell me some?
A: Well, a lot of them were bad stories. (smiles)
Q: Did you end up selling the business in the end?
A: Yes.
Q: You must have seen Collingwood change a lot over the past few decades. In your opinion, has the town changed for the better or worse? How?
A: Probably for the better. You can make a living.
Q: Did your wife help with the business at all?
A: She was a nurse. We managed.
Q: When you came to Sunset Manor, you cut people’s hair as well. What made you want to do that?
A: Well, the thing is, I had the equipment. I would also do it at the hospital and other nursing homes.
Q: What sorts of things do you like to do now that you’re retired?
A: Bowl. I like to dance. Go to church.
Q: These days, how do you spend your time?
A: I’m always doing something.
For our feature People of Collingwood, we’ll be speaking with interesting people who are either from or are contributing to the Collingwood community in some way. This feature will run on CollingwoodToday every Saturday. If you’d like to nominate or suggest someone to be featured in People of Collingwood, email [email protected].
