Main Street – September 23, 1948

By Morris Rote-Rosen

George Roberts, who closed his barber shop on Main street to continue part time work in his residence on the New York-Vermont state line, on East Main street, is the last of another generation. When he quit "the little flatiron building", George Roberts wrote finis to an institution in Granville, which flourished half a century ago in keeping with the horse and buggy era and with the kerosene burning lamps of that period. George Roberts is the last of that school of barbers and happens to be the only survivor of a profession which listed such names as John Mayo, Burke Morehouse, Barney Smith, Bill Cornell and others.

We called on George Roberts late in the afternoon and we found him sitting in a comfortable chair on a green lawn, surrounded by flowers - and waiting for a customer. On the rear of his residence on East Main street, was a small red, white and blue barber pole and the door of his specially improvised barber shop was wide open. His dachshund sniffed at a prospective customer as George laid aside his newspaper. As is customary when in a barber chair, the customer talks and the barber joins in a steady patter while the scissors are snipping and hairs falling in all directions.

We recalled to George Roberts the early days of the John W. Mayo barber shop. "That's where I got my first job in Granville," said George, "when John Mayor had a barber shop in the Dick Durham building." It was located where the Lichtig store now stands, on the ground floor where there were four barbers in waiting and as many chairs. The price of a hair cut was 25 cents and it cost ten cents for a shave. George stayed with John Mayo when he moved to the Joe Green block and later to the Munson House. "What about the barber shop bath tubs?" we asked George, recalling the time when barber shops installed public tubs when hot water was not only a rarity but a luxury in the average Granville home.

George stopped his hair cutting for a moment. "We had two bath tubs there and the customers had to take their turns on Saturday night." He said that the bath tubs were going all day, on a Saturday, and the charge was 25 cents for bath, soap and towel. "What killed the bath tub business in the Granville barber shops", continued George, "was the Young Men's Guild, a young men's club in the old Pember Opera House block. Rev. Zorn, an Episcopal minister at Trinity church, became interested in the Granville young men. He formed a club and installed a bath tub and shower there. That finished the bath tub business for the local barber shops."

"What about the shaving mug era, George?", we asked. We had in mind the days when everyone who could afford it had a special shaving cup, in his favorite barber shop, for his exclusive use. "When I worked for Mayo, we had one hundred thirty five private shaving mugs", said George. "The so-called 'barber's itch' broke out and to avoid an epidemic, or an infection, from the shaving cups and brushes used for the general public, many of the local citizens purchased their own private shaving mug. I have some of them in my possession today as souvenirs of many of my old customers when I was in business for myself and when I had thirty-five cups in use."

Some of these old shaving cups, which, no doubt, would bring fancy prices from some antique dealer, are still in the possession of George Roberts. These bear names of familiar Granville people of another generation. "George W. Henry's number was 29", said George, "old Bud Bowker owned a private cup and so did Steve Carpenter and Bill Munson and Harve Barden. Although Aaron Goodspeed is remembered by you with a long beard, in his later years, he was smooth shaven and he had a cup here. Little Mike Hickey was another and so was Dr. L. A. Bromley, Solon C. Mason, Mike Welch, Roy Lee and G. W. Mason of the West Pawlet creamery."

The cups George spoke about are the private shaving mugs inscribed in different style lettering with the names of the owners. Some are in gold lettering and the purchase price of these shaving cups ranged from $4 to $5 each. These cups are not only identified by the Old English script letters, but are of various designs. Some are blue with gold bands at the top and bottom, some are decorated with floral designs and, one in particular, belonging to a lover of horses, shows the heads of two spirited horses. George has now passed his 70th year and he can sit back in that chair on the green lawn with the flowers around him, take it a little easier, but still able to do some work after sixty years of public service.

No matter where some of our former Granville residents may be living now the word "Granville" brings to them a little bit of heaven, as is evidenced from the following letter: "523 Front Street, Upland, Chester, Pa., August 29, 1948. Dear Mr. Rote-Rosen: Just a few lines to let you know we enjoy your 'Main Street' in the Granville Sentinel. I just wanted to write and tell you of a little incident which happened last Tuesday (August 24). My husband and I were sitting in a restaurant on Pacific Avenue, in Atlantic City, when a truck went by with the words 'Tatko Bros. Middle Granville, N.Y.'. Well, for a second I thought that I was back in Granville. It is a small world. I lived in Granville for 21 years having left in 1934 when I married. You may remember I used to work in the Farmers National Bank. Best wishes to you and yours. Sincerely, Mrs. Mamie Williams."

The merry-go-round of friendly callers to "Main Street" brought Thomas H. Roberts of the U.S. Veterans Hospital, Kingsbridge Road, Bronx, N.Y., one of the chief cooks of the hospital. He yearns for Granville and hopes some day to be transferred to a Veterans hospital nearer to Granville to keep in closer touch with his many friends ... Another was Samuel H. Shames, Granville tailor of several years ago, who came all the way from Cal. to visit his grandchildren who are living with Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Smith, Mettowee street. "I came to Granville", says Mr. Shames, "all the way from California to see the grandchildren. You know blood is thicker than water."

Then Charles and Kate (Roberts) Lord marched into the office with extended hands and smiles. We used to pal with Charlie when he worked for George H. McDonald and Nathan Goldberg. As for Kate, she insists that we helped her out of a tough spot in Miss Noonan's seventh grade, in the Church street school, when we lettered her map with the inscription "Switzerland". Charlie and Kate show some wear and tear of the years, like all of us do, but they haven't changed in spirit and are happy to recall the days of their youth in Granville which they will always claim as their home.

When they left there came Dr. Hiram Evans and his cute little wife Jean (Buckland) and that sweet prize baby Susan. Hiram was quite proud of his little family and he wanted Susan to "show off". But babies have that way about them. She buried her head on his shoulder. We were impressed by the resemblance of Jean to her father Rev. Harold Buckland, former pastor of the Granville M. E. church, now superintendent of the Burlington (Vt.) District ... We were stopped by Fannie Duel, who isn't a bit shy about her years, and admits crowding 80 years of age. "How do you keep so young?", we asked Mrs. Duel. "Oh, that's easy", she said: "Never be disagreeable. Smile and the world smiles back at you".

And as the friendship merry-go-round kept going around and around, Truman Temple stopped at the office, carrying a bag full of freshly picked tomatoes: "Since you have no garden of your own", he said, "here are some tomatoes." ... John F. Evans placing a brown bag on the desk: "Here are some cucumbers and squash to take home with you." ... Gladys King: "If you like sweet corn here is some we picked for you." ... Friendship - the crown jewels of the Kingdom of Happiness - without which life wouldn't be worth much ... And we are grateful.