The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-08-13
Success Of zUoff1an Barber
Learned Trade From Her Uncle First Shaving Man Who
Was In Hurry-NOw Has twenty-five Women
Assistants and Makes Money.

Yes, like my business very much.
enjoy the work and make money, but
there is just one thing would like to
change" said Miss Amelia Clay, the
one woman in Greater New York who
owns and manages a barber shop where
only women are employed. Il don't
like my sign
why, do you know, actually eaten
myself looking the other way when L
come to open up every morning, or
when returning from lunch. Yes, m
deed. that sign. Lady BARRIERS Only,
rJbs the fur up the wrong way, ana
the worst of il is that time doeSnt ap-
pear to ease my pain.
Why don't l change ito" she ex-
claimed in answer to my question L
don't change it for the very good rea-
son that 1 would lose my customers II
I did. and I object to it on account OF
that word ladies. 1t has such cheap
look and sound when coupled with
baber shop. sBut 1 see you will never
understand until 1 go back TO the be-
ginning and explain.
When 1 first opened this shop, hVe
years ago, my sign read like that OF
any other barber, although 1 then, as
now, only employed women Well,
didn't get many customers, and things
began TO look pretty blue for me when
one day the lawyer whom I had con-
suited about my business from time TO
time, came in for a shave and hair
cut He inquired about my methods,
etc. and when l told him that l en-
ployed only women assistants, ne was
surprised and asked why didn't state
the fact in my sign. He insisted that
il would prove an attraction, and said
in the presence of my two assistants
] had only two then, 1 employ twenty
five now-'You ladies mustn't hide your
light under a bushel. Advertise, adver-
tise yourselves as lady BARRIERS, and
I'll guarantee that in two months
you'll have more than you can do.
..Then he went out and 1 sat down to
wait for another customer and to think
over his suggestion. As result 1 had
a new sign painted, and it read;
Women BARRIERS Only Employed. In
stead of my customers increasing
there was decided falling off, and
near the end of the second week. when
] was almost in despair, an old sea
captain made his appearance in the
shop. He looked about him suspicious
". eyed me and my one assistant-the
other one had been suspended until bet
ter times-and finally, taking his seat,
instructed me to shave him and do it
quick I obeyed his orders, you may be
sure. for was not run down from over
work in those days, and on that par
ticular day he was our first AID only
customer. After the shave he exam
ined himself in the mirror, then he
walked about the shop and inspected
things pretty much as I imagine he
would inspect his own ship. Then he
turned to me and, after a good, long
stare, he demanded:
what made you hang that sign
over your door,
81 explained my reasons as best
could. You see, customers were so
scarce in those days that I was glad
TO overlook even a little rudeness for
the pleasure of having them in at all.
Well, the old fellow listened to me.
Then he fell tC whistling and staring
with his hands stuck deep down into
his pockets. Finally he said:
ia never take you for a bloomin'
fool from the looks of you. Don't you
know that man doesn't like a woman
who calls herself a woman? Why
don't you call yourself a lady? You'd
never caught me comm in here for a
shave if the lady who runs the boardin'
house where stop hadn't told me you
was a lady and kept a decent place
You can take my word for it, and
change that sign and you'll draw. Call
yourself a lady and do honest, clean
work
Then he marched out and after a
good cry we held another consultation
and decided to change the sign to read
as you now see it. It acted almost like
a miracle, and before the end of the
month l was really at my wits end
about how to attend to our customers.
You see, I didn't want to get in extra
help If our prosperity was only to be
temporary, but / soon decided to try
the experiment, and since then l have
been forced to enlarge the establish
ment to its present proportions and we
are always busy.
ST learned the business from nv
uncle, with whom 1 went TO live at the
death of my parents when I was about
L years old. He was a barber, and I
fell into the habit of helping him about
his shop between hours. Then l I'M
dertook regular work as a cashier and
bookkeeper, and one day during the
busy season l shaved a man who was
In hurry when there was no one else
at leisure. That was my first attempt
to use razor, and 1 think now it was