69 years in business

Michael A. Sawyers
Cumberland Times-News

Sat, May 17 2008

— BARTON - Come June 30, Evelyn George will close the door to her beauty shop in downtown Barton for the last time, walking away into retirement from a place and a business that has been her life for 69 years.
Considering she just turned 90, one might reasonably ask what took her so long.
"I've just enjoyed doing this, being around the customers, making them look nice," George said. "I really got to know them. They were all really friendly."
Over the years, if you ever wanted to know what was going on around Barton, Evelyn's Beauty Salon was your place for one-stop shopping.
"I wouldn't call it gossip," George said. "I'd just say we enjoyed our conversations."
George, who graduated from Barton High School in 1936 and the Tri-State Beauty Academy in Cumberland in 1937, said customers always told her that getting a shampoo and head massage was a relaxing experience.
"They liked to have somebody listen to them, too," she said. "One of the preachers told me I must be a good listener because the women in his church told him they could tell me anything."
Looking back over almost seven decades of permanents, curls and scissors, George said she really can't remember any stand-out incidents at the bucolic Barton beauty business.
"Well, except for the time the car hit the building," she said. Turns out a driver turned into the corner of the structure next to the Town Hall, causing some minor damage. The building, one of the oldest in Barton, has been purchased and will likely be torn down, according to George.
George's sister, Emily Hyde, with whom she lives, said that a lot of local people still talk about the time when customers who had no way of their own to get to the shop would be shuttled back and forth by Evelyn's husband, Gay, now deceased.
In the corner of Evelyn's Beauty Salon is a permanent wave machine of 1939 vintage. Though it hasn't been used in years, George described the laborious process of wrapping hair and hooking each curl to the somewhat malevolent-looking machine. "It's a lot easier now," she said.
George turned 90 Wednesday, though her birthday party, attended by more than 60 people, took place the previous Sunday at Barton United Methodist Church, where she is a member.
George said the only man's hair she ever worked on was that of her husband. "And that's just because he'd come back from the barber and it wasn't done right." she said
George has had just a few regular customers in recent years, according to her sister. "Most of her regular customers have passed away or are in nursing homes," Hyde said.
The veteran beautician has no big plans for retirement, other than to enjoy it.
"We like to go out to eat," she said, referring to her sibling and describing a meal of grilled chicken that she particularly enjoyed recently at Denny's Restaurant in Keyser, W.Va.
Beginning in July, to find a commercial hairdo in this portion of Georges Creek, people will have to drive to either Westernport or Lonaconing, according to George.
Frances Smith of McCoole has made weekly trips to the shop since 2002, spending 1 1/2 hours in the chair and talking with Evelyn about current events and common friends. "It's all good talk," Smith said. "Evelyn is a very caring person. She never puts anybody down."
Smith said that George has a closet full of coats and boots that she has people wear home if it gets cold or snowy during their visits to the salon.
"She gave me a pair of boots when it snowed and I was going to the Lonaconing Senior Center for lunch and then told me to keep them," Smith said.
For 69 years the life's work of Evelyn George has been visible on top of her customers' heads. For many years to come, her dedication to her profession and to those who patronized her will remain inside those same noggins.
Contact Michael A. Sawyers at msawyers@times-news.com.

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