Newspaper, Grass Roots & Cockleburrs, Flat Top Hair Cuts, LaSalle Parish, La.

GRASS ROOTS AND COCKLE BURRS- Flat Top Hair Cuts
By Jack Willis
Sponsored by Finch Motors
Transcribed by Pat Ezell, PatEzell@worldnet.att.net
Submitted by: Kathy LeMay Kelly, P.O. Box 219, Trout, La. 71371
From the Jena Times - Olla Tullos Signal, Wed., April 19, 2000, 
Section B, Page 7 

Thank You to the Times -Signal for allowing the following to be added to the
Archives.
 




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FLAT TOP HAIR CUTS
There's an often heard phrase, "History repeats itself" and this is definitely
the case when it comes to hairstyles. In the past 50 or so years, hairstyles
have gravitated from the pompadour style in the 50s to today's "butch" cut.
The pompadour was the male equivalent to fanning our tail feathers, much like
a tom turkey. One of the best examples was demonstrated by Earl K. Brooks. He
wore a pompadour with elegance. Apparently every morning he would liberally
apply the Vitalis hair tonic and give the pile of hair just behind the hair
line the flip that would last the whole school day.
Somewhere around the summer of 1953, Huey Bradford came to town. He had the
second chair in Mr. Earnest Andrews' Barber Shop on First Street next to J.D.
Russell's Grocery Store and Meat Market.
Whether or not Huey introduced the flat top to Jena is a moot point, but his
barbering skills did much to popularize the new hairstyle. Huey also just
happened to be hooked up with a Barber and Beauty Supply Company and they
peddler Butch Hair Wax. After Huey completed your haircut, and was brushing
the freshly cut hair off your neck and shoulders, he had a spiel going. The
Bradfords could always talk 90 miles an hour. And when Bro. Huey got through
there was no way one could walk out the door without a short, squatty jar of
pink goo. It was simple - either you applied the wax liberally first thing
every morning prior to departing for school or your hair simply wouldn't stand
up and convey the proper flat top appearance. This dude could sell sand to a
Mid-East native.
Mr. Earnest Andrews' nephew, Ronald, was also an accomplished barber and cut
his fair share of flat tops, also. On any given Saturday it was standing room
only in the shop. The older barbers only got the older customers desiring the
old white sidewall cuts that would last them for about two months.
Along about this time, Mr. W.W. "Wade" Andrews, who along with his brother,
Burl, had been cutting hair during the week at England Air Force Base, decided
to open up the shop which had been operated in Trout near the old Trout Lumber
Company Commissary. The building was on the corner, across the street from the
Commissary and offices of the mill. The building at one time also housed the
company doctor's offices as well as the barber shop.
Mr. Wade in some people's estimation cut a better looking flat top. Some of
the flat tops looked like miniature heliports for tiny helicopters. The curve
didn't blend into the curvature of the head like Mr. Wade's cuts did. He would
lay his comb flat on the back of the customer's head and run his clipper
flatly along the comb and voila! You had a real athletic looking hair cut. His
son, Dan, was a natural model for Mr. Wade's handiwork, since he was a multi-
letter man in a variety of sports. Leo Dan was a pretty good salesman also and
it wasn't long until he had the rest of his teammates lining up on Saturdays
to get their trim.
The flat top on college campuses designated the wearer as a member of the
"frats," and the males on campus that affected the pompadour combed straight
back on the sides with a crease down the back of the head were called "cats."
The creased in the rear look was called a ducktail haircut. It was immensely
popular in south Louisiana, along with "belt-loopless" jeans.
Then came the Fab Four English invasion. The Beatles' Edwardian hairstyles
changed the appearance overnight of the teen crown. Long hair and sideburns
were in! Today, one with extremely long hair makes you wonder what they're
rebelling against.
Now, today, after enduring grunge, punk rock and corn rows, the circle has
been made, and the styles are crew or butch cuts, some bleached with fuzzy
goatees.
One senior citizen, upon observing a trio of male juveniles passing by, was
obviously dated in this thinking when he wryly stated that he had seen better
looking hair on the side of pork meat selling for 19 cents a pound.
But…opinions are like belly buttons, every one has one. 
He also related that things ain't been right since they walked on the moon.
Oh, well, hair today and gone tomorrow…