Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1919-08-19
ESTABLISHED 1855
SHAVING In FRANCE
York Soldier Visited a TOnSOrldl
PaflOr One Time.


sbop. Are Not Well Equipped Like
ths Ameriean-The Razor Was Dull
and the Whole Operation Painful
One Even Though Administered by
Fair Lady.
By Lewis M. Grist.
Not many Of you York county fellows
ever got a shave in q French barber
shop with a woman doing the shaving.
Lucky for you!
I don't know whether you know 1t
or not; but II Is fact nevertheless
tnat the finest barbershops in all the
world are to be found In the United
States and Canada Oh. Of course the
razors of the BARRIERS in England and
France are just as sharp as are those
the BARRIERS In America. Still every
man knows that there Is lot more 10
a good shave than sharp razor.
France knows nothing about luxu-
riantly furnished barbershops with
comfortable. well upholstered position
chairs and electric fans and big mir
rors and all those things that we In
America know.
And most Of the BARRIERS over there
are women. Maybe the male BARRIERS
are in the'majority in times of peace;
but I do not think SO. At least was
told that most Of the shops were run
by women all the time. I saw very
few male BARRIERS the whole time I was
In France.
We fellows In the army were not
supposed TO put out any Of our good
money on shaves. Uncle Sam furnish
ed each of US with a good safety razor
before we went overseas and even
those Of us who had not been used to
doing our own shaving. soon learned
the art.
Hardly had we been settled In
France however. before some Of the
members Of my outfit learned that the
barbershops in the village were con-
Quoted by girls and that they were
pretty good looking mademoiselles.
too.
That was something new to most
Of us-the idea of a woman working as
a barber and every lad in the outfit
made dive for one Of the barber
shops, feeling the need of shave. The
attraction Of course was the idea OF
being shaved by girl. Some Of the
lads were so struck with the novelty
Of the thing that they called for every
thing on the barber's "bill Of fare"
shave, shampoo, hair cut, massage,
hair singe-the whole works.
Oh. yes. did 1t too, a little later.
A buddy Of mine came back to camp
one evening all cleaned up like a
young buck shined up for the big
meeting with dinner on the grounds.
"Well Grist. don't look like a six
teen-year- grille. wanting to be
kissed for the first timer" he queried
cheerfully as he attempted to put his
arms around me in fun.
"Get along with you," returned. you
look so clean am afraid Of YOU"
"Oh. boy" he said. best looking
girl In France shaved me and massag-
ed me and cut my hair and put on all
these other frills," and then he pro-
ceeded to give me my first knowledge
Of French barbershops with good look
ing girls running them.
Well couple of days later I saunt-
cred into one of the shops.
1t was a two chair affair. The bar
bers were girls. Right pretty girls, too.
The chairs were ordinary straight
backed chairs, with sort of head
rest. Those chairs, however. were not
revolving chairs and they could not be
made to lie down like the chairs in
barbershops here.
On the wall were couple Of mirrors
each about as big as minute. On a
stand lay several razors, a square
shaped strop and a shaving mug.
the waiting customers to sit on.
The shop was comfortably filled and
those girls worked like they were 60
ing to funeral. and in no hurry to get
back for supper. There was a strapping
American soldier in each chair. One
Of them, remember, had a beard that
looked like 1t was as hard and as
= tough as the hide of hound dog
suffering with the mango.
The girl shaving him would dab a
bit Of lather composed Of some kind OF
a powder made up with cold water on
his cheek. Then she would strop her
razor a little and make a swipe at him
A hard grinding sound would follow
face into the most horrible. shape. The
girl apparently unconcerned and with
not even professional interest in hel
customer worked on, slowly chatting
chair all the while.
"Gee," l thought to myself. THAT
razor will certainly be in some fearful
shape by the time she gets to me-"
At last my time came, and l sal
down in the chair Of one Of the fail
BARRIERS rather reluctantly. My beart
is not as tough as some; but 1t is 6
lot easier to cut wheat with a moving
machine than it is for almost any
barber to cut my whiskers and there.
fore / was filled with grave forebod.
ings.
The pretty barberess-she was about
eighteen, guess. gave me the once
over with a professional stare. / re-
turned the look and then closed my
eyes. After what my buddy had tolC
me l went to the place with a view
to getting shave. shampoo and all
When saw the place and the tortures
of the others 1 changed my plans.
Well she lathered me pretty goot
and then she started. The lathel
stung like the bite of one Of these Au
gust mosquitoes that whine around
your head in the night time, bite deeI
and beat it, the blow you intend fol
the mosquito striking your head in
stead. That's how l felt.
She made a swine at nv cheek The