October 18, 2011 - 5:47pm
Entering an old-school time capsule at the Church Street Barber Shop
BY JACOB AXELRAD
Church Street weekday foot traffic typically consists of students eating lunch at Amer’s or picking up class materials from Dollar Bill. From Thursday night to Saturday night, the block is filled with patrons waiting to enter Rick’s and students grabbing a late night meal at Pizza House.
But there’s another establishment on this road not as well-known as our traditional hotspots: the Church Street Barber Shop.
Built in 1919 (the same year the Michigan Union was constructed), the shop’s exterior is unassuming and could easily go unnoticed — a faded brick façade and a window stating not a name, but a fact: Barber Shop.
On the inside sit three barber chairs in the middle of the room. They’re old, like relics from a museum. Globs of hair litter across the red and white tiled floor, and a pile of National Geographic magazines stack in a corner next to Michigan football posters. Located next to a pair of scissors and shaving cream rests a brown box with bronze levers extending from its surface, making it look like the pedals on a very small piano: the cash register. It’s something that came straight out of the 1920s.
Jim Kemppainen is the shop’s fourth owner in its 92 years of existence. Quiet and reserved, his personality could best be described as “old school” in the truest sense of the expression: He doesn’t say much, but when he does, his words are direct and to the point – similar to the sign on the window. As a former truck driver who drove long hauls carrying cars from coast to coast, Kemppainen has enjoyed his time spent in Ann Arbor, with both feet securely planted on the ground.
“This is my retirement job,” he explained. “I like working here because everyone who comes to the door is real nice. It’s a great way to spend the day, and I don’t have to retire from here because … barbers don’t retire. They just kind of get older.”
Today, Ann Arbor residents seeking haircuts might frequent The Dascala Barbers or Coach and Four Barber Shop, both of which are located on State Street. Yet neither of these is as old or historic as Kemppainen’s little shop. According to Kemppainen, the second oldest business in the immediate area is the Brown Jug, which was started in 1938.
A customer enters, places his coat on the rack just inside the door and exchanges pleasantries with Kemppainen. They know each other well.
“Did you catch the game?” the customer asks.
“I caught both of them … not a good weekend for the Lions or our Wolverines,” Kemppainen says as he snips away.
He finishes the haircut. The customer gathers his things and bids Kemppainen farewell.
Kemppainen’s customers range from current students to alumni dating back to the shop’s inception.
“Some days I’ll only get students. Other days I’ll get some older customers,” Kemppainen said. “The oldest customer I ever got said he lived next door to the shop when he was a student and saw it being built when he was a senior. Another time I got a group of guys who were in town for their fiftieth school reunion. They remembered the barber shop and wanted to get their hair cut here.”
The shop has been around for almost a century, a living relic of Ann Arbor and the University’s past. But Kemppainen doesn’t see anything particularly glamorous about his position. When asked what he likes most about his job, he grinned and said,
“Oh, I don’t know. Work is work, and everyone’s gotta work somewhere. ”
Another customer enters and Kemppainen once again prepares to do the same job he’s done for the last 31 years.
