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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 8, 1984)
Thursday, March 8, 1984/The Battalion/Page 9 vn (show f available ai its’ Weekend nd $3.50 for at MSC formation la- t Center this ivailability of arms can (at- will be avail- >men 54 years back Wilbanks’ career of ‘lowering ears’ By BARBARA BROWN Reporter The new electric cash register feits in the corner unplugged and unused. But the 1939 regis ter sounds like a telephone rom the same era, rrrrringing p another sale. Haircuts are $5. That’s five rrrrings — one for each dollar. But when A.A. Wilbanks Started cutting hair at the orthgate Barber Shop in }937, haircuts were 35 cents, /ilbahks is the oldest barber in Brazos' County, but that’s the janly thing old about him. I’m 88-years-okl,” he savs, [‘just middle-age you know ." Wilbanks has spent the past &7 years lowering the ears of kggies arid growing old with he University. Communica- | When 1 came heie, their an observing r asn ' 1 a P aved on ,Ik ’ 12T5in 225 P m P us > he says. “ I lie only rs will be Dr. ■ ,rick - building at Northgate was f whoareas **' e one on me cornet that (fa- A. A. Willbanks cuts Johnny Blalock’s economics major from hair. Blalock is a senior agriculture fels. Photo by Dean Saito New Braun- edbetler will n will discuss $7 a person. Communia- lent A University. 4667. idue p at United be turned in mmentorin on trip ley and Sparks built for theii prug store (where Campus Photo is). All the rest ol the Ihops were just tin shacks, imuiuo- J rhere was a sidevva lk. but the of Com- i lreel was "“^hly as a hog pen. ■That was just yesterday though.” I The barber shop, which is landwiched between the Tailoi fehop and the University Frame Shop on College Main, also re Tlects a mixture of the old and [he new. J All the original fixtures are ■till used. The sinks, cabinets, ■nirrored wall and cash icgisio ■tave survived the half-cenlurv In good condition. I Newer things have been ladded through the yeais. The Ivall opposite the mirrors has ,s sponsoring l^ 11 paneled and nine waiting 23. The trip lhairs— 10 if you count the sel- ido River be-|| o ni- u sed hair dryer — are k, which in- lined up against it. Three large mil and Lava ■ naroon and white trash c ans t hiking. The lining under the sinks have ids and costs ihumbs-up “Gig ’em Aggies" Symbols painted on them. Four barber chairs are in the niddle of the tiny 12-tool by J7-foot shop. There is just |>%T InoughTcjoni to squeeze hv and || pet a magazine at the bac k of jhe shop before silling down uj _ I Lait your turn, y ifjfjl “I come here because Mi ■ Wilbanks really knows how to (ut hair,” says one cadet, jusi cause we have short hair doesn't mean it has to h‘e, hutch red, : aiid sdhie peckf»1e TaiT’ ’eallybulclter.” , You'll find Wilbanks behind |he third barber chaii. An Jmused leather honing strap angs from the right side of the hair. He doesn’t use the strap anymore. He has changed to the straight-edge razor with re placeable blades. But the leather strap still hangs there, a pouument to days gone b\. 1 The years of practice are evi- can f^P^llentas Wilbanks begins to cut. His steady right hand guides jlieelectric razor from the nape If the neck upward and around [he ears while he lilts the < us- , omer’s head with his left hand, a owns an injA liule shorter fpi cadets, i/ease. Even shorter lot fresh- nen.) The whirring cvf the razor Hops and in one swift move W T il- lanks puts it down and returns Bvith scissors and a large black for gifted d h school day. ren) were j it of the schoct trinciple said .rict altorntl ck Jr. said •t order becai at follow scl to have writti i the other pi vhere,” Bana( n’t haveparef ren off carapi ij ion.’ g company, k in the pasb officials at ’s teachers, wl te out while i is comb that has several teeth missing. , He clips, clips, clips away un til he’s satisfied with the length and shape. Occasionally he looks up from his work to comment about the weather or the latest happening around campus, but he usually saves conversation for between cuts. He turns around to the sink behind him and puts the shav ing brush in the mug to lather. “We bought hew electric la- therizers," co-owner Hector Garcia says, "but Mr. Wilbanks still Uses his old shaving mug.” I he old green shaving mug is held together with silver duct tape and masking tape, but it still gets the job done. Wilbanks tucks a paper towel around the customer’s aproned neck. Then he lathers the back of the neck and around the ears and sideburns. With the strafight-edge razor he neatly shaves the lathered area. No nicks, no cuts. He wipes off the lather with the paper towel and pitches it in the Aggie trash can. He picks up the scissors and comb to double-check for any stray hairs. "There’s a gray hair up he re, he "Tells tiff customer. “You'd belter quit worrying.” After satisfying himself, Wil banks turns the customer’s chair toward the minor for ap proval. Then he unties the apron and £ives it a snap tb get rid of thiethair. i, ' The custohiej 1 , who is writing a check/"says to Wilbanks, T have my address, phone num ber and I D. number on here. Do you need anything else?” “Yeah,” Wilbanks answers, gi inning, “put your shoe size on there.” Another customer enters the shop. Flic street noises tempo rarily drown out the latest Du ran Duran single coming from the radio that looks like it’s seen better days. “He knows the boys like to hear that kind of music,” Garcia says, “so he puts the radio on the rock station.” Alton Abraham Wilbanks is a native Texan, born Nov. 12, 1895, in Tennessee Colony (near Palestine). He was the fifth of 1 1 children in a family of seven boys and four girls. He joined the army in 1917 and fought in Germany and France. He proudly displays the Pur ple Heart he received after be-, ing injured in the war. The medal sils in a frame on top of the portable black and white television, which is on top of the safe in one corner of the shop. One cadet notices the medal and questions Wilbanks about it. “I just failed to get out of the way,” he explains modestly. Then he adds with a grin, "I zigged when I should have zag- ged." Four cadets’ interest in creases and (hey gather around to hear more. One asks Wil banks what really happened. “The same shell that hit me in the hip shot off another guy’s leg next to me,” he says. “I was a machine gunner on the front but I don’t think I’ll apply again.” He graduated from barber college in Fort Worth and moved his wife and daughter, Peggy, to Bryan in 1930. He. worked at another barber shop fjpr seven years before going to work at Northgate. “I was making $20 to $25 a week and we rented a five-room house for $12 a month,” he says. “Things have really changed.” He was the equipment man ager for the T exas A8cM foot- able ith es day :h 8 rs They were a family torn apart by temptation.. kept apart by pride.. but br outfit tosettier by a miracle! A WORLD WIDE PICTURES RELEASE STARTS FRIDAY SCHULMAN 6 m ball team in 1939. T hat was the year the Aggies won the na tional championship, led by Coach Homer Norton and run ning back John Kimbrough. He was a campus policeman for three years before World War II. He says he could tell some really great stories, but he’d better not. Wilbanks works 8 a.in. to 5 p.m., Monday through Satur day. On weekdays, four other barbers alternate working with him, but on Saturdays he runs the shop alone. “He’s very dependable,” co- owner Garcia says. “Some peo ple say vve should let him go but as long as he wants to work he’ll have a job. He’s become kind of a tradition around here. A lot of grandfathers send their grand sons in to gel their hair, cut by Mr. Wilbanks.” As the day progresses, more' and more hair clings to the bar ber’s light blue shirt, navy lie and navy slacks. He sits down for it much needed rest. He has been work ing since 8 a.in. It’s 3 p.m. and he hasn’t sal down once all day. He hasn’t had lunch or even a drink of water. But he never complains. “I’m just especially busy to day," he says. “I usually have time to eat a sandwich.” When he’s not working, Wil banks says he “goes neighbo ring” because he’s not fond of a lonely house. Wilbanks says he likes being in public and getting to visit with people. He keeps an eye on the door as he talks. When another cus tomer enters, he stops mid-sen tence and says, “Got to go to He hops up and hi work now. quickly moves behind his barber chair. “Have a seat sir. How are you today?” Business before pleasure? Watching A.A. Wilbanks, it’s easy to see that his business is his pleasure. New Lab Management mmsi When did you last challenge yourself? Or do something truly out of the ordinary? If it’s been too long, go Outward Bound this year. Climb a mountain. Captain a raft. Explore the canyons. While at the same time, learning. About nature. About people. About yourself. Colorado Outward Bound School Dept. C-19 945 Pennsylvania St. Denver, CO 80203 (303) 837-0880 — Jfi&jAoviS" FINEST ROCK & ROLL CLUB IN HOUSTON • POINT BLANK IG-17 • • . WHITE ANIMALS and Z-ROCKS 23-14. . • FABULOUS THUNDERBIRDS 30-31 • . •THE GRASS ROOTS Also coming in March... BAXTER ROBINSON 3 - 25 FOOT VIDEO SCREENS • 10 BARS • LARGE DANCE FLOOR THETINEST IN SOUND & LIGHTS • LIVE BANDS