After nearly 43 years of barbering, Kent Phillips will retire from profession
The Dispatch
For nearly 43 years, barber Kent Phillips has been meeting friends at 119 Gumtree Road to talk, joke and cut their hair at Midway Barber Shop.
The relationship with his customers surpassed the definition of client-barber decades ago, he will tell you. These are his friends. When they sit in his 1970s-era avocado green chair, they are there as much for the conversation as they are for the haircut.
The buzz of Phillips clippers and the scent of shaving cream will end March 13 when the long-time barber closes the door for the last regular day of service at Midway Barber Shop. Phillips is leaving the profession and semi-retiring, which means the barbershop that his mentor and former co-worker John Faust opened 50 years ago will close. It s the end of an era as time winds down for the final cut.