What is that? June 1, 2024
If you know, let us know. Send your responses to [email protected] or phone 631-275-1859.
Last week’s mystery photo (see below) was far from a mystery to most of our readers (see bottom right). Ed Hydeman was the first to respond, writing, “That’s the barber pole in front of Louie’s shop next to the hardware store.”
Roger McKeon weighed in:”Louie the Clip’s barbershop pole, what else?”
On our Facebook page, Faith Cummings, Cynthia Michalak, Renee Holmes Prevot, and Julia Romanchuk all praised Louie, with Mike Cicero chipping in by writing, “My dad’s barber shop.”
And Jeffrey Pinover wrote: “A cut above the rest.”
The shop was built in 1926 as a bakery and gift shop, and was called the Gingerbread House, the first stop for churchgoers coming down from Our Lady of the Isle after Mass on Sunday mornings. In 1946 it became a barbershop and in 1959 Louis Cicero arrived as assistant to the new owner. Haircuts were $1.75.
Louis and his wife Anita are still operating the business, ably assisted by Mary Boeklen, who came aboard in 2015 and has been indispensable in keeping this Island institution thriving.
As for the symbolism of the barber pole, Marijane Card provided some history, writing: “The colors have meaning. Besides cutting hair, barbers would do blood letting. The red means blood, the white means bandages, and the blue means veins. I’m glad my stylist just does hair.”
