Back prior to 1958 I lived in Miami, Florida, my mother rented an apartment from Gullotti family, Minnie, and Sam. Apartment was on their huge property. Many great memories of Miami.
These folks were immigrants from Sicily via Ellis Island, NYC-NY. Husband was Barber worked in Dad’s Barber Shop in Coral Gables a suburb of Miami.
Back then Barbering was profession, and one could make good living as people want to look neat, trim all the time. Few people had beards or long hair. Most people got haircut Bi-weekly or Monthly. Plus many business men came in for a daily shave with straight razor.
Sam was master of using Straight Razor, and it always fascinated my with him do the fine razor tuning with the Leather Strop.
Having a straight Razor used on you with every hair cut was normal for all clients back then, part of the Haircut, and even Kids got the treatment around the Ears, and Back of Neck.
Mr. Gullotti cut my hair for free regularly, as he and wife never had driver licenses, or car. My mother use to sometimes take him to the barber shop or take him home from work if their schedules jived. Plus my mom nascar driver for our landlady need to make run to Italian grocery store in Downtown Miami.
Mr Gulotti cut a lot of young boys hair, and use to use a prank them to keep kids still in his barber chair. Mostly it was the 4 - 6 year olds who he referred to as squirmers. Every now and again I recall some boy being a squirmer, who never sat still for more than 15 seconds at a time.
Normally the Sam could get the haircut done if the kid was a squirmer, but the shaving part on neck, and around ears was taught.
Sam’s secret trick was to open one of the draws in his barber station after saying in broken English, SIT STILL I going to show you something.
In the draw he kept a small cardboard box, he would say to the squirmer. See this, opening the box top. A the Boy who could not stay still got his Ear Cut off. In the the box that had cotton on bottom was gruesome rubber Ear, covered in some fake blood, very grotesque. Not sure where ear came from.
Yes those few choice words, and blood fake ear got the squirmers attention. Yesterday a kids would not hold still in barber chair, I cut his ear off, see. The gruesome grotesque prop worked every time.
After freaking out the squirmer out, most kids froze still like a rock never moving in the Barber chair again.
No one ever fainted, as back them most barber chairs when pumped up all the way still did not work for small kids. A board was locate on top arm rests to get small buy up high enough to cut their hair, and do the mini shave with STRAIGHT Razor on Neck, and Ears.
Can anyone imagine do this in 2023, the poor Barber would be in court, or maybe prison for traumatizing children.
Still to this day I have fear of straight razors, have had couple of Straight Razor Shaves in my life time, always worried about a body part being cut bad, or cutoff.
These folks were immigrants from Sicily via Ellis Island, NYC-NY. Husband was Barber worked in Dad’s Barber Shop in Coral Gables a suburb of Miami.
Back then Barbering was profession, and one could make good living as people want to look neat, trim all the time. Few people had beards or long hair. Most people got haircut Bi-weekly or Monthly. Plus many business men came in for a daily shave with straight razor.
Sam was master of using Straight Razor, and it always fascinated my with him do the fine razor tuning with the Leather Strop.
Having a straight Razor used on you with every hair cut was normal for all clients back then, part of the Haircut, and even Kids got the treatment around the Ears, and Back of Neck.
Mr. Gullotti cut my hair for free regularly, as he and wife never had driver licenses, or car. My mother use to sometimes take him to the barber shop or take him home from work if their schedules jived. Plus my mom nascar driver for our landlady need to make run to Italian grocery store in Downtown Miami.
Mr Gulotti cut a lot of young boys hair, and use to use a prank them to keep kids still in his barber chair. Mostly it was the 4 - 6 year olds who he referred to as squirmers. Every now and again I recall some boy being a squirmer, who never sat still for more than 15 seconds at a time.
Normally the Sam could get the haircut done if the kid was a squirmer, but the shaving part on neck, and around ears was taught.
Sam’s secret trick was to open one of the draws in his barber station after saying in broken English, SIT STILL I going to show you something.
In the draw he kept a small cardboard box, he would say to the squirmer. See this, opening the box top. A the Boy who could not stay still got his Ear Cut off. In the the box that had cotton on bottom was gruesome rubber Ear, covered in some fake blood, very grotesque. Not sure where ear came from.
Yes those few choice words, and blood fake ear got the squirmers attention. Yesterday a kids would not hold still in barber chair, I cut his ear off, see. The gruesome grotesque prop worked every time.
After freaking out the squirmer out, most kids froze still like a rock never moving in the Barber chair again.
No one ever fainted, as back them most barber chairs when pumped up all the way still did not work for small kids. A board was locate on top arm rests to get small buy up high enough to cut their hair, and do the mini shave with STRAIGHT Razor on Neck, and Ears.
Can anyone imagine do this in 2023, the poor Barber would be in court, or maybe prison for traumatizing children.
Still to this day I have fear of straight razors, have had couple of Straight Razor Shaves in my life time, always worried about a body part being cut bad, or cutoff.
