‘But I only wanted a trim!’

by Clyde Whitaker

Probably none of you out there will believe this, but I was a little spitfire when I was young, full of “vim and vigor,” a pretty hyper kid. Eventually, I needed to start getting my hair cut. I don’t remember much about those early haircuts, but I do remember the drive out to my Aunt Tennie and Uncle Irving Fletcher’s house on Milner Road with my dad to get those cuts.

I think I was around 5 or 6 when my dad and I started going out there. Uncle Irving would pull out a metal kitchen chair for me to sit on, then place a towel around my neck to catch the clippings.

In our regular visits to see Aunt Tennie and Uncle Irving, he was always a quiet, patient man, until he tried to cut my hair. I squirmed and moved around a lot, not liking the buzzing of the clippers going around my head. He would get so exasperated, trying his best to finish my haircut as fast as possible. Uncle Irving told my dad that I was the hardest haircut he ever had to do, lol!

I must have worn out Uncle Irving, because Dad eventually started taking me up to Gordon’s Barber Shop in Stockbridge. Gordon Nawrock was the owner and the only barber there. He served in the Korean War, and afterward he set up shop where our post office is today.  Gordon was a portly man, with gel in his hair, slicked up nice and neat, wearing a white apron and smelling like cheap cologne.

As I was a little older at that point, before he started cutting my hair I confidently told Gordon  “I want a trim only.” Gordon would just smile, nod his head, then proceed to cut my hair down to my scalp, leaving just a little clump of hair on my forehead!

Naturally, I was aghast when looking in the mirror and seeing all of my hair gone. Gordon called it a “Princeton style.” I was not a fan. After pleading with my dad many, many times that I wanted to try a different barber, he finally consented and I ended up going around the corner to see Ridge Owen, and he cut my hair just the way I wanted it.

Gordon Nawrock died in Florida on Oct. 30, 2003. He was a good man who gave you your money’s worth—and then some!

All photos provided by Clyde Whitaker

Clyde Whitaker is a 1973 Stockbridge graduate. He and his wife, Mary, raised four children in Stockbridge, and they still reside in the Stockbridge area.