Nash Girls: Time for a Change

The sound of Russell Callahan’s Buick six-cylinder engine faded as he drove away from Frank’s Barbershop.
For several moments, nobody said anything.
Frank stood near the front window, watching the automobile disappear down the street. Only minutes earlier, Sergeant Callahan had entered the shop furious over what had happened to his wife, Bernice, while he was serving overseas.
Russell had been prepared to fight him.
Instead, the two veterans had ended their conversation with an embrace.
Frank was relieved that nobody had been hurt.
But as he turned away from the window, he noticed something he hadn’t expected.
The women in his shop were no longer laughing.
The usual evening conversation had stopped.
Vivian was standing beside her middle chair, where a young Nash worker was waiting to have the last of her hair shaved away. Eddie was at his station, working on another woman’s closely clipped head.
Three more women occupied the waiting chairs.
Only a few minutes earlier, they had been talking about their haircuts, smoking cigarettes, and laughing about which one of them would be next to have her head shaved.
Now they were looking at one another.
And Frank had a feeling that Russell Callahan’s visit had changed something.
THE FIRST WOMAN LEAVES
A young woman named Kathleen O’Rourke was sitting in the waiting area.
She was twenty-four years old, married, and had been working at Nash since her husband left for military service.
Before the war, Kathleen had worn her auburn hair below her shoulders.
Now she had a closely clipped haircut, with the sides and back barely longer than the stubble on a man’s face.
She had come in that evening intending to have her entire head shaved with a straight razor.
But after watching Russell Callahan confront Frank, she was having second thoughts.
“Frank?”
Frank looked over.
“Yes, Kathleen?”
She hesitated.
“That soldier who was just here. Russell Callahan.”
“What about him?”
“His wife works at Nash, doesn’t she?”
“Yes.”
Kathleen looked down at her hands.
“And he was that upset about her having her head shaved?”
Frank nodded.
“He was pretty upset when he came in.”
Kathleen swallowed.
“My husband’s coming home.”
Vivian looked toward her.
“When?”
“Possibly next month. He wrote that he expects to be discharged soon.”
Nobody spoke.
Kathleen continued.
“When Patrick left, my hair was halfway down my back.”
She reached up and touched the closely clipped hair above her ear.
“He hasn’t seen me like this.”
Vivian spoke gently.
“Well, you could let it grow out.”
Kathleen nodded.
“That’s what I’m thinking.”
Frank looked at her.
“Do you still want your shave tonight?”
Kathleen sat quietly for several seconds.
Then she stood.
“No.”
Frank nodded.
“All right.”
She picked up her coat.
“I’m sorry, Frank. I just can’t do this anymore.”
Vivian looked surprised.
“Kathleen, nobody’s going to make you get a haircut.”
“I know.”
Kathleen looked around the shop.
“But I’ve been coming here for months. Every time somebody gets their hair shorter, I think maybe I ought to try it, too.”
She paused.
“And tonight I was going to have everything shaved off.”
Frank listened.
“Then that soldier came in here talking about how disappointed he was when he saw his wife.”
Kathleen shook her head.
“I can’t imagine Patrick coming home and looking at me like that.”
She put on her coat.
“I’ve waited too long for him to come home. I’m not going to spend our first days together arguing about my hair.”
Vivian nodded.
“That’s understandable.”
Kathleen walked toward the door.
“Good night, everybody.”
“Good night, Kathleen,” Frank answered.
The bell rang as she left.
Frank watched her walk away.
He had just lost a haircut.
But something told him it wouldn’t be the last.
ANOTHER WOMAN CHANGES HER MIND
A second woman, Teresa Gallagher, had been sitting beside Kathleen.
Teresa was twenty-six and had been coming to Frank’s for nearly a year.
She had started with a chin-length bob.
Then Vivian had clipped the back.
Eventually, Teresa had asked Eddie to cut everything down with the hand clippers.
Tonight, she had intended to have Vivian shave her head completely smooth.
But after Kathleen left, Teresa remained unusually quiet.
Finally, she stood.
“Well, I suppose I’d better go, too.”
Frank looked toward her.
“You’re leaving?”
Teresa nodded.
“Yes.”
“Something wrong?”
She shook her head.
“No, Frank. Nothing wrong with your shop.”
She looked toward the door.
“But I know my husband isn’t going to be happy about any of this either.”
Vivian sighed.
“Another soldier coming home?”
Teresa nodded.
“He’s still in France, but he’s supposed to be coming back.”
She rubbed the back of her closely clipped head.
“He used to tell me how much he liked my hair.”
Eddie looked over.
“Well, it’ll grow back.”
“That’s exactly why I’m leaving.”
Teresa picked up her handbag.
“I’ve been thinking about growing it out for a while.”
She looked at Vivian.
“Then every time I came in here, somebody had a new haircut. Somebody was getting clipped shorter. Somebody else was getting shaved.”
She smiled sadly.
“And I kept thinking I might as well try it.”
Frank nodded.
“I understand.”
Teresa continued.
“But seeing Russell Callahan come in here like that made me realize something.”
“What’s that?” Vivian asked.
“These men have been gone a long time. They remember us the way we looked when they left.”
She paused.
“And maybe we’ve forgotten how much that means to them.”
Vivian didn’t answer.
Teresa looked at Frank.
“I’m sorry. I don’t think I’m going to have my head shaved.”
Frank nodded.
“That’s perfectly fine.”
She smiled.
“And I don’t think I’ll be back for a while.”
Then she walked out.
The bell rang again.
Frank looked toward the empty waiting chairs.
Two customers gone in less than ten minutes.
THE WOMEN IN THE CHAIRS
Vivian returned to the young woman sitting in her chair.
Her name was Bridget Donnelly.
She was twenty-three years old and had been getting her head shaved regularly for several months.
Vivian had already clipped her hair close and applied shaving lather before Russell Callahan entered.
Now she was finishing the straight razor shave.
“All right, Bridget. Hold still.”
Bridget nodded.
Vivian carefully drew the razor across the remaining stubble on the back of her head.
She wiped the blade clean and made another pass.
Bridget watched herself in the mirror.
“Vivian?”
“Yes?”
“I think this is going to be my last one.”
Vivian paused.
“Your last head shave?”
Bridget nodded.
“Yes.”
Vivian looked surprised.
“You’ve been coming in every three days.”
“I know.”
“And you always tell me how much you like it.”
“I do like it.”
Vivian resumed shaving.
“Then what’s changed?”
Bridget sighed.
“Russell Callahan.”
Vivian stopped again.
Bridget continued.
“My husband is supposed to come home this summer.”
She looked toward the mirror.
“When he left, I had beautiful long hair.”
Vivian listened.
“And now look at me.”
Her head was almost completely smooth.
Bridget shook her head slightly.
“I got caught up in all of this.”
Vivian smiled faintly.
“What do you mean?”
“The other women at Nash. Everybody talking about getting their hair cut shorter. Then somebody would come in with a shaved head, and everybody would want to try it.”
She paused.
“It was exciting. It was something different.”
Vivian nodded.
“Yes, it certainly was.”
Bridget continued.
“But I never really thought about what my husband would say when he came home.”
Vivian finished the shave and wiped away the remaining lather.
“Well, now you’ve got time to let it grow.”
Bridget smiled.
“That’s what I’m going to do.”
She reached up and felt her smooth scalp.
“One last time.”
EDDIE HEARS THE SAME THING
At the third chair, Eddie was finishing a haircut for a woman named Nora Sullivan.
Nora had been getting full clipper cuts for months.
She had originally come in that evening asking Eddie to clip everything close and then finish with a straight razor.
But she had changed her mind during Russell’s confrontation.
“Eddie?”
“Yes?”
“Don’t bother with the razor.”
Eddie looked at her in the mirror.
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
He set down his clippers.
“All right.”
Nora examined her closely clipped head.
“I think this is going to be my last haircut for a while.”
Eddie smiled.
“Everybody seems to be saying that tonight.”
Nora sighed.
“My husband’s been in the Army since 1917.”
Eddie nodded.
“And when he comes home, I don’t want him looking at me the way that Sergeant looked at Frank.”
Eddie removed the cape.
“Well, I can’t blame you for wanting to avoid an argument.”
Nora stood.
“I don’t regret getting my hair cut.”
She looked around the shop.
“I enjoyed it. I enjoyed coming here. I enjoyed being part of something different.”
Then she looked toward Frank.
“But I think it’s time to let it grow again.”
Frank nodded.
“That’s your decision, Nora.”
She paid Eddie.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Nora walked toward the door.
“I don’t think I’ll be back anytime soon.”
Eddie smiled politely.
“Well, we’ll be here if you change your mind.”
She left.
THE LAST CUSTOMER
Bridget finally stood from Vivian’s chair.
Her head was freshly shaved, completely smooth from front to back.
She paid Vivian and put on her hat.
“Well, Vivian, thank you for everything.”
Vivian smiled.
“You’re welcome.”
Bridget hesitated.
“I really have enjoyed coming here.”
“Then why does that sound like goodbye?”
Bridget gave a small laugh.
“Because I think it is, at least for a while.”
Vivian nodded.
“You’re going to grow it out?”
“Yes.”
Bridget looked around the shop.
“I think a lot of us are.”
She put on her coat.
“Good night.”
“Good night, Bridget.”
The bell rang.
And suddenly, the shop was empty.
Frank looked at the clock.
It was only a little after eight.
Normally, the evening crowd would keep them busy until nearly ten.
Tonight, there wasn’t another customer waiting.
FRANK BEGINS TO WORRY
Frank sat down in his barber chair.
Eddie looked toward the door.
“Well, that was something.”
Vivian began cleaning her razor.
Frank didn’t answer.
Eddie continued.
“Five women just decided they’re not getting their hair cut anymore.”
Frank nodded.
“I counted.”
Vivian looked toward him.
“You seem worried.”
Frank gave a short laugh.
“Worried? Vivian, I think we may have just seen the beginning of something.”
She frowned.
“What do you mean?”
Frank gestured toward the empty chairs.
“Think about what happened tonight.”
Eddie leaned against his counter.
“That soldier came in, got upset, and everybody started thinking about their husbands.”
“Exactly.”
Frank continued.
“And how many more soldiers are going to be coming home over the next few months?”
Vivian considered it.
“Quite a few.”
“And how many women working at Nash have husbands overseas?”
Eddie shrugged.
“A lot.”
Frank nodded.
“Exactly.”
He looked toward the front window.
“Now imagine all those women deciding they’re going to grow their hair back.”
Vivian smiled faintly.
“Well, they’ll eventually need haircuts again.”
“Eventually.”
Frank emphasized the word.
“But what happens between now and eventually?”
Neither answered.
Frank continued.
“Some of these women have been coming in every two or three days to have their heads shaved.”
He gestured toward Vivian’s chair.
“Bridget was one of your best regular customers.”
Vivian nodded.
“She was.”
“And now she says she’s not coming back.”
Frank looked toward Eddie.
“Nora was coming in regularly, too.”
Eddie nodded.
“Yes.”
“And now she’s gone.”
Frank leaned back.
“That’s a lot of business disappearing in one evening.”
THE SPANISH FLU HAD ALREADY HURT BUSINESS
Vivian put down her razor.
“Frank, we’ve been through slow periods before.”
Frank shook his head.
“Not like this.”
He picked up the newspaper from his counter.
“Think about last autumn.”
Eddie nodded.
“The influenza.”
“Exactly.”
Frank continued.
“When that Spanish flu started spreading around Kenosha, people were frightened.”
Vivian nodded.
“Some of our regular customers stopped coming.”
“Quite a few stopped coming,” Frank corrected.
He looked toward the chairs.
“We stayed open, but that didn’t mean people were willing to come in.”
Eddie remembered.
“There were evenings when we barely had enough customers to keep busy.”
Frank nodded.
“And some people were sick. Others were afraid of getting sick. Some didn’t want to be around anybody.”
Vivian sighed.
“It was a terrible time.”
Frank continued.
“And we lost money because of it.”
He paused.
“Now we’re finally getting past that, and here comes something else.”
Eddie looked toward him.
“The soldiers coming home.”
“Exactly.”
Frank shook his head.
“I never imagined that the end of the war might hurt our business.”
THE MEN MAY NOT WANT HAIRCUTS EITHER
Eddie tried to sound optimistic.
“Well, at least the men will be coming back. They’ll need haircuts.”
Frank looked at him.
“Will they?”
Eddie frowned.
“What do you mean?”
Frank gestured toward his own head.
“Think about those soldiers.”
“What about them?”
“They’ve spent months, sometimes years, getting their hair clipped short in the military.”
Eddie nodded.
“That’s true.”
Frank continued.
“Now they’re coming home. What’s the first thing some of them are going to want to do?”
Eddie considered it.
“Grow their hair out?”
“Exactly.”
Frank leaned forward.
“They’ve been living under military regulations. Getting their hair cut whether they wanted to or not. Now they’re civilians again.”
Vivian nodded slowly.
“And they might not want another haircut for a while.”
Frank pointed toward her.
“That’s exactly what I’m thinking.”
He looked around the room.
“The women are going to let their hair grow because their husbands are coming home.”
He paused.
“And the husbands are going to let their hair grow because they’re finally out of the Army.”
Eddie shook his head.
“That’s not good.”
Frank gave a humorless laugh.
“No, Eddie. It certainly isn’t.”
VIVIAN’S SECOND CHANCE
Vivian sat down in her middle chair.
Frank looked toward her.
And suddenly, he remembered something that made him even more concerned.
Vivian had already lost one business because of the changing times.
Years earlier, she had inherited her aunt’s established beauty salon.
She had been trained in cosmetology and had expected to make a good living operating it.
But then the women of Kenosha began taking jobs at Nash.
One by one, her four employees left the salon for better-paying factory work.
Without enough employees to keep the business operating, Vivian had been forced to close.
She had come to Frank looking for work.
Frank had given her an opportunity in the vacant middle chair.
And she had become one of the most successful barbers in his shop.
Now Frank was afraid history might repeat itself.
“Vivian?”
She looked up.
“Yes?”
“Do you ever think about your old beauty salon?”
Vivian looked surprised.
“Of course I do.”
Frank nodded.
“You lost that place because the women went to work at Nash.”
“Yes.”
“And now I’m worried that the women coming out of Nash might stop coming here.”
Vivian looked toward the empty waiting chairs.
“I hadn’t thought about it that way.”
Frank continued.
“You worked hard to get established here.”
Vivian nodded.
“I did.”
“And you’ve built up a good group of customers.”
“Yes.”
Frank sighed.
“I don’t want to see you lose another place to earn a living.”
Vivian looked at him.
For a moment, she didn’t speak.
Then she said quietly, “Frank, I appreciate that.”
He shook his head.
“I’m serious.”
“I know you are.”
Frank continued.
“I’ve got other business interests. I’ve got the property outside town. I’ve got plans that don’t depend entirely on this barbershop.”
He paused.
“If this place slows down, I’ll manage.”
Vivian nodded.
“But you and Eddie depend on this place.”
Eddie looked toward Frank.
“That’s true.”
Frank sighed.
“And that’s what worries me.”
A DIFFERENT KIND OF FUTURE
Vivian considered the situation.
“Well, perhaps the women will come back when their hair grows out.”
Frank nodded.
“Maybe.”
“And perhaps some of the soldiers will want proper civilian haircuts.”
“Maybe.”
Eddie smiled.
“Some of those fellows might want to get rid of their military haircuts and have something more fashionable.”
Frank considered that.
“That’s possible.”
Vivian continued.
“And not every woman is going to grow her hair out just because her husband doesn’t like it.”
Frank nodded.
“That’s true, too.”
But he still looked troubled.
Vivian leaned forward.
“Frank, we can’t predict what everybody’s going to do.”
“No.”
“And we can’t make customers come in if they don’t want haircuts.”
“No.”
She smiled.
“So perhaps we ought to stop worrying about the women who are leaving and start thinking about the customers who might be coming.”
Frank looked toward her.
“What do you mean?”
Vivian gestured toward the shop.
“We’ve already changed this business once.”
Frank nodded.
“That’s true.”
“When I first came here, most of the customers were men.”
“Yes.”
“And then we started doing women’s bobs.”
Frank smiled faintly.
“And then the clipper cuts.”
“And then the head shaves.”
Eddie laughed.
“Don’t forget those.”
Vivian continued.
“Well, maybe the next fashion will be something different.”
Frank considered that.
“Perhaps.”
Vivian smiled.
“But whatever it is, we’ll learn how to do it.”
THE EMPTY SHOP
By nine o’clock, there still hadn’t been another customer.
Eddie finished sweeping around his chair.
Vivian cleaned her tools and folded the towels.
Frank remained seated, looking toward the front window.
Outside, the Nash factory continued operating.
Women were still leaving their shifts and walking home.
But none were coming into the barbershop.
Frank finally stood.
“Well, I suppose there’s no sense sitting here waiting for somebody who isn’t coming.”
Vivian looked toward him.
“You want to close early?”
Frank glanced at the clock.
“Not yet. We’ll keep our regular hours.”
Eddie nodded.
“All right.”
Frank walked toward the front window.
He remembered how busy the shop had been only a few months earlier.
Women would line up waiting for their turn.
Some wanted bobs.
Others wanted full clipper cuts.
And lately, the straight razor head shaves had become so popular that Vivian and Eddie could barely keep up.
Some women came in every other day.
Others every three or four days.
It had seemed like the business would continue growing.
Now, after one angry soldier had walked through the door, Frank was beginning to wonder whether the whole thing had been temporary.
A wartime fashion.
Something the women had enjoyed while their husbands were overseas.
And something many of them might abandon now that the men were returning home.
FRANK’S FINAL THOUGHTS
At ten o’clock, Frank finally locked the front door.
Eddie had finished cleaning his station.
Vivian was putting on her coat.
Frank looked toward the three empty barber chairs.
“You know something?”
Vivian turned.
“What?”
“I was worried about Prohibition.”
Eddie smiled.
“You’re still worried about Prohibition.”
Frank nodded.
“Yes. But at least I’ve been preparing for that.”
He paused.
“I wasn’t prepared for this.”
Vivian looked around the shop.
“For women growing their hair back?”
Frank nodded.
“Exactly.”
He gestured toward the chairs.
“I thought the war ending would be good for everybody.”
Vivian smiled faintly.
“In a lot of ways, it is.”
“Of course it is,” Frank answered. “Those men are coming home alive. Families are being reunited. That’s something to celebrate.”
He paused.
“But it doesn’t mean everything is going to go back to the way it was.”
Vivian nodded.
“No, it doesn’t.”
Frank looked toward her.
“And I don’t want you to lose another opportunity because the world changes around you.”
Vivian smiled.
“Well, Frank, I’ve been through that before.”
“I know.”
“And I survived it.”
Frank nodded.
“Yes, you did.”
She continued.
“And if the women decide to grow their hair out, perhaps we’ll just have to learn to cut longer hair again.”
Eddie laughed.
“I suppose I still remember how to use scissors.”
Frank smiled.
“Good. Because you might need them.”
Vivian picked up her handbag.
“Good night, Frank.”
“Good night, Vivian.”
Eddie followed her toward the door.
“See you tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow.”
After they left, Frank stood alone in the darkened shop.
He looked at the middle chair.
The chair where Vivian had built a second career after losing her beauty salon.
Then he looked at Eddie’s chair.
The young barber had spent years learning his trade, and Frank knew how much the job meant to him.
Finally, Frank looked toward his own chair.
He had survived slow periods before.
He had survived the influenza epidemic.
He had watched the war change Kenosha and the Nash factory.
And now he was watching the end of the war change his business again.
Frank had other opportunities.
He had property.
He had plans for the liquor business if Prohibition became law.
He wasn’t afraid of losing everything himself.
But he was afraid of something else.
He was afraid of having to tell Vivian and Eddie that there wasn’t enough business to keep them working.
And that was something he desperately wanted to avoid.
Frank reached for the light switch.
Before turning it off, he glanced once more toward the waiting chairs.
Only a few months earlier, those chairs had been filled with women eagerly waiting to have their heads clipped or shaved.
Tonight, two women had walked out before receiving their haircuts.
And the others had left saying they might never return.
Frank shook his head.
“Funny how things change.”
He switched off the lights.
Outside, the streets of Kenosha were quiet.
The soldiers were coming home.
The women were reconsidering their haircuts.
And for the first time in a long while, Frank wasn’t wondering how he would keep up with all the customers.
He was wondering whether there would be enough customers left.

0