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Throughout their careers, Maryville barbers Fred Robertson and Bryan Lemons have acquired a tool of the trade that can outlast even the most durable pair of clippers or trimmers: patience.
In their more than 70 years of combined experience, Fred and Bryan, who run Downing's Barbershop at 410 N. Market St., have dealt with picky customers, fixed other barbers' mistakes and pulled through those dark years when long hair was popular. All the while, they say they've gained a unique perspective on human nature.
Fred, 58, grew up in Bethany, Mo., where his fascination with barbering began. It was, he said, the way people changed after getting a haircut - physically and mentally - that inspired his career choice.
"It definitely makes a difference in their attitude," Fred said.
In 1969, the 18 year-old went to work with two other men at an established barbershop in Bethany, the start of what's become a 40-year career.
"I rode the bus back from (Moler Barber College in Kansas City) - suitcase in one hand,
barber case in the other - and they put me to work the day I got back," he said.
He even remembers his first customer: a young veterinarian "who just wanted a nice 'businessman's haircut.'"
After 16 years, Fred moved to St. Joseph, Mo. and opened his own barbershop. However, he had to sell the award-winning business in 2007 after a heart attack two years before prompted him to slow down his lifestyle.
He moved his family (and his blue barber's chair) to Maryville, became acquainted with Bryan through one of the latter's friends and started working at the shop a year and a half ago.
"It's made us a good living, even when long hair was in style," Fred said of barbering.
And despite having to take on "moonlighting" jobs, like bartending, to make ends meet when that hairstyle was trendy in the early '70s, Fred was "bound and determined to stay in the barbershop business. I was serious about what I was doing."
Bryan's reason for becoming a barber is decidedly less complex, but equally concrete: his own hair.
"I didn't know what I wanted to do and I didn't want to waste four years deciding," he said. "I guess I've been picky about my own hair - people gave me crap about it. I just didn't think I'd be doing it this long."
Originally from Fremont, Neb., Bryan began his barbering career there when he was 19. Two years later, he opened his own shop in Crete, Neb. However, he and his wife had to move around the Midwest a lot because of her job, and each new state required a new barber's license.
The two got a divorce, and Bryan moved to Maryville. He began working at Downing's with then-owner, Gail Downing. When Gail decided to retire more than a decade ago (he recently died of a heart attack), Bryan bought the shop.
Throughout his 30-year career, Bryan says he's always made the quality of his service, not the price of it, his top priority.
"I was charging $14 for a haircut 13 years ago and $10 10 years ago. For me, it's been hard to keep it down," he said. "You've got to charge based on how good you are. I don't want people to come because of how cheap I am; I want them to come because I do a really good job."
Both Fred and Bryan stay on top, if not somewhat ahead, of the barbering game; Bryan says he gave a customer a bowl haircut in the '80s before the style became popular in the Midwest.
They'll honor any request if described well enough. Case in point: Fred once clipped and trimmed the face of a Ninja Turtle into one young boy's head; Bryan, a Nike swoosh into another's.
As for the customers themselves, the men have experienced quite the spectrum. Some walk-ins wind up coming back and developing good friendships with the barbers. Others aren't so gracious. But at the end of the day, it's all just one big lesson on people
"You have to take the good with the bad," Bryan said. "Both of us have told people not to come back. Ninety percent of customers are just fine, but there's that small percentage that really makes you bite your tongue."
On the other hand: "From the first haircut, I've gained a wealth of information on how to enjoy people, which is what you have to do in order to be in this business," Fred said. "From the little ones to the old ones to the middle-aged ones, enjoy all of them - and all the personalities you see."
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