Local barber calling it quits after 52 years

Gary Hackbarth is a people person. He likes to talk to people, and he likes the job he does. After 52 years, this barber will be putting his razors to bed professionally at the end of the year.

“I just figured it was time,” he said.

Hackbarth knew he loved being a barber from the time he was little. He was fascinated by the tonics, the smells, and the good people at a barbershop.

“They used to use all these hair tonics and oils and they always used to smell good,” Hackbarth said. “There was always pleasant chatter going on.”

Yet barbershops are slowly becoming a thing of the past. There are seven barbers in town nowadays, according to Hackbarth.

“(Barbershops) used to be a social center,” he said. Hackbarth remembers men coming into the shops he worked at every morning for coffee and small-talk.

Yet getting his master’s certification in the craft took a lot more than small-talk. Hackbarth graduated from Austin High School in 1957, but couldn’t get into Lees’ Barber College in St. Paul for another two years.

It wasn’t that Hackbarth was putting off his education, however. Being a barber was so popular, schools used to have a two-year waiting list for applicants.

“Nowadays, I could take you down to a college in the cities and sign you up, and you’d be taking classes the same day and I’d get $100 for a finder’s fee,” Hackbarth said with a laugh.

Hackbarth got into the college in 1960, graduating in 1961 and spent two years in the U.S. Army after that. Once done, he finished an 18-month apprenticeship — required for barbers in those days — and finally took his master’s exam in 1964, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, who was a barber in Lyle before he was born.

“Maybe it was hereditary,” he said with another laugh.

Hackbarth’s exam illustrates how much getting a shave and a haircut has changed over the years. In the 1960s, barbers still relied on shaving as their proverbial bread and butter. While most men shave themselves today, barbers mainly did shaves for men when Hackbarth first started.

Hackbarth had to demonstrate 13 different kinds of shaves, in addition to completing a written and oral exam on things like the history of the barber profession, the human circulation system, the locations of nerves and pressure points, and more.

Barbers also gave out facials, clay packs for people with severe acne, scalp manipulation and other things that beauticians would typically take care of nowadays. Hackbarth still remembers how to do those things, and offers a few of those services today.

Hackbarth was off and running when he got his master’s license, which was necessary in Minnesota to own and operate a barbershop. While Hackbarth bounced around Austin barbershops for a few years — there were about 13 shops towards the end of the ‘60s, according to Hackbarth — he eventually decided to open up a shop with Bob Jones and David Ofstedahl.

Barbers Three opened in 1969 and still goes today. They offer shaves like in the good old days, one of the few places in town that still uses time-honored razors and shaving creme.

“It’s a tremendous change, over the years,” he said.

Hackbarth remembers the characters and the townspeople that have come and gone through the shop, each with their own stories to tell. He’s seen the town go through its ups and downs and remains optimistic about Austin’s future. He’s also proud of the work he and others put into Barbers Three.

“We have a good reputation,” he said.

Hackbarth will soon be traveling with his wife, Marlys, possibly looking into a retirement community in south Texas and visiting their daughter in San Diego. He probably won’t quite the profession cold turkey, as he still goes to a few homes to cut peoples’ hair. Barbers Three will move from its location on First Drive NW as well, still operating under Jones.

Hackbarth is looking forward to retiring, however.

“I figure 52 years is a pretty good career,” he said.