“Over the years I’ve met a lot of people and have cut lots of heads and would you believe, I have never cut anyone’s ear,” was how Lorne Stechyshyn began a brief speech at a retirement gathering last fall.
That is an accomplishment of pride for someone who spent a half century cutting hair as a professional barber.
“I took my barbering course in Regina at the Molnar Barbering School back in 1968 while working at Motorways (transport trucking business). I worked at a barber shop for about a week before landing a job at the Regina Inn, styling men’s hair. Styling men’s hair is a little more involved than a barbershop haircut,” explained Stechyshyn.
For Stechyshyn being a barber was something he had decided on as a career early on.
“I used to just sit in front of the mirror (thinking about it),” he said.
Initially Stechyshyn had planned on taking hairdressing in Winnipeg, but there was not a course opening for several months, so he opted for barber training in Regina because he could get into the course more quickly.
“And Winnipeg was too big for a farm boy,” he added, noting he had grown up near Benito, MB.
Looking back, Stechyshyn said his wife (Elsie) had suggested he revisit hairdressing, but he never did, admitting that might have been a mistake in terms of earnings through the years.
After about a year or so, there was a group of stylists who left the Regina Inn to open a new shop on 12th Avenue, not far from the Regina Inn.
“A couple of years later I decided I needed to branch out on my own and open my own shop,” said Stechyshyn.
The move was made not just to forge out on his own, but because it Stechyshyn would be closer to family, and in particular the farm at Benito, both being very important in his life.
In fact, while he finally retired from cutting hair, he still heads to Benito regularly from spring to fall to farm the quarter section of land his father had.
“It’s just a hobby farm,” he said, adding it is a place to get away and “hear the birds.”
That connection to Benito has always been strong for Stechyshyn, who noted for a number of years he travelled to his hometown one day a month to cut hair, doing that for five-years.
It all relates back to family for Stechyshyn, whose immediate family numbers 74, most still close enough to return home for the key holidays. He related how the family used to gather for Ukrainian Christmas at his parent’s home, their 700 square foot home where upwards of 45 would meet.
The large family would eventually lead them to rent the rink in Benito for the festive gathering. This year 55 family members gathered for the traditional Ukrainian supper, the kids spending time skating on the ice.
As for cutting hair in Yorkton, Stechyshyn had his chair in three different locations in the city through the years.
When I started here in Yorkton 45 years ago, my brother-in-law suggested I open a barber shop here in Yorkton because he wasn’t satisfied with the haircuts he was getting.
When he began working in the basement of the Holiday Inn (now the Ramada), he was charging $3.00 for a razor cut, wash and style. His rent was $300/month.
“One had to cut a lot of hair to pay the bills,” he said.
Stechyshyn clearly recalls his first customer John McPake, a well-known businessman.
“He owned Christie’s Funeral Home and every time he had a funeral he would come in for a shampoo and style. He really promoted my business by word-of-mouth,” he said.
Stechyshyn related that when he got started he purchased two barber chairs. They arrived from Japan at a cost of $2000, disassembled.
“I had to assemble them and they came from Japan so the instructions were in Japanese,” he said with a smile.
Naturally, in near 45 years of cutting hair in Yorkton, Stechyshyn has seen changes.
“I have seen lots of changes in hair styles from the long shags in the 70’s, to perms and afros in the 80’s, and most recently the buzz cuts and for some guy’s it’s “once around the block”. Perms for men became popular in the late 70’s and early 80’s, and my wife still reminds me of the times she sat for hours while I practiced rolling perm rods in her hair,” he said.
Stechyshyn said recognizing there was a growing demand for perms at the time he basically experimented until he knew what he was doing.
“I just learned on my own,” he said, adding knowing how to do them did bring more women to his shop at the time.
“I realized they needed a little more attention than men,” he added with a smile.
In spite of the changes, Stechyshyn said he enjoyed his profession.
“I really enjoyed my profession as a barber-stylist and took pride in my work. I enjoyed the conversations with my clients whether it was sports, fishing, hunting, farming or the weather. There are many stories I could share but “what happens in the barbershop stays in the barbershop”,” he said.
And, it never hurt when he received a little praise for his customers.
“The majority of my customers were men but I did have a few women clients. I would like to share a story about this woman client because it is one thing I will never forget. This particular lady customer was in San Francisco airport and she was approached by a stranger and asked what type of haircut she had because she really liked that style. It was a feel good moment for me when my client told me about this event. To have someone take notice of the haircut, well it was a big deal for me because I took great pride in what I did and that was, giving my clients a haircut that not only made them look good but that others would take notice of,” said Stechyshyn.
For Stechyshyn that meant a lot because it followed his basic tenet in terms of his career.
“I really took pride in my work,” he said again. “… I just enjoyed doing what I was doing.”
