SILOAM SPRINGS — When Mike Barnett picked up his first pair of scissors, his ownhair and mustache were a deep shade of brown.

Today, at Mike's Barber Shop, his agile fingers still sift through brown, blond and black tangles to trim the edges. His own hair and the hair of many of his long time customers, however, is now sprinkled with a touch of gray.

Barnett relocated his fourdecade old business in March to 2910 Highway 412 West in West Siloam Springs from Tulsa, Okla.

He named the new business after himself and began accepting local clients for walk-in haircuts upon opening its doors.

"At some time in the future, if I get enough business, I may add another barber," Barnett said. "For right now, I'm still trying to get people to see that I'm here."

Barnett brushed hair from his swivel chair at Cherokee Barber Shop in Tulsa for the last time in February - the same month he began work at his store in 1969.

"It was hard to leave. I had a lot of elderly customers that had been with me since the beginning," Barnett said. "I miss the shop and the customers but I still talk to my barbers quite a bit."

Barnett and his wife of 42 years, Susan, raised their daughter in Oklahoma and moved to the Flint Ridge area 12 years ago.

For more than a decade, Barnett made the 160-mile commute to his longtime customers and shop in Tulsa.

"I'd been driving back and forth since we moved and I finally had enough of it," Barnett said. "At the end of February, I sold my shop in Tulsa. It was time to cool my heels for a bit."

Open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mike's Barber Shop is in the rear of the brick building next to Bailey Self Storage.

Though his prices started at around $2 for a haircut in the beginning of Barnett's career, he charges $10 for most jobs today.

As a courtesy, the shop offers a discount for senior citizens and those on a fixed income.

"After high school in Colcord, I went to work in Tulsa in what I called a sweat shop - it was a sheet metal shop," Barnett said. "It didn't take me long to learn that that kind of work was hard and it wasn't something I wanted to do."

In 1962, Barnett enrolled in barber school. Two years later he earned his certificate that lead him to his lifelong career.

"That wasn't the plan though, I didn't start out right after barber school," he said. "Instead I got drafted into the Army during Vietnam."

Though his combat-ready company never went to Vietnam, Barnett and his unit were stationed in Germany during the war.

It wasn't until five years later that Barnett began working at Cherokee Barber Shop.

"I had a very good business - most times so good you couldn't sit down for a break or to have lunch," Barnett said.

Cherokee Barbershop's busiest day of the week with the highest client traffic is Saturday, he added.

"One thing I noticed that a lot of places around here either aren't open or close early on Saturday," he said. "I've always thought that was funny because its the best day for business."

Barnett hopes his new shop's extended Saturday hours will increase traffic to the local business.

"Men can come down and know that they aren't going to miss a game," he said. "I've always got sports on the TV."

One thing Barnett has not tackled over the years is doing women's haircuts.

Though they are welcome in the shop affectionately called "the man lair" by Barnett, they're not likely to walk away with a new hair style - even by request.

"I don't get into that other than the few times I've been forced," he said. "I'm chicken."

For more information or directions to Mike's Barber Shop call (918) 422-4013.

"I've always loved making friends and meeting new people," Barnett said. "That's what makes this business so rewarding."

By Jessica Weekley

Staff Writer jessicaw@nwanews.com

Business, Pages 6 on 08/19/2009

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