Rhino's Ramblings - Enjoy The Sunshine

By Robert Thomas - Opinon/Commentary

For those who did not notice it this past week has been one of mourning as Wayne Nielsen, who ran the Trim Top Barber Shop at 319 4th Avenue SW, after over 50 years finally hung up the barber’s shears.

This is not only a catastrophe for me but it is a major tsunami that has just hit Moose Jaw.

Now where am I and so many others going to get a decent haircut, be able to gossip and hear all of the real news that matters and finally be amongst the most stylish looking men in Moose Jaw?

This is something which needs to be dealt with by Council posthaste and I am left wondering how the ‘thoughful seven’ (ok ‘Magnificent Seven’ if you are a Western fan) could allow this one to slip through their fingers?

This has to be the most dysfunctional thing I have heard the wisdom keepers at the corner of Main and Fairford mess up in the 30 plus years since I first sat down to cover a Council meeting.

A deer smoking a cigarette while you have your haircut has to be one of the best trademarks in the city - MJ Independent file photo

To understand Wayne is really to understand what is good about Moose Jaw.

Here was a guy who started out in a bank and then moved over to help out his dad who ran the shop. This is an institution and part of the City’s heritage.

The old time barbershops are quickly dying off it seems and with Wayne calling it quits and Harold also quitting at the Co-op there really isn’t a barbershop to go to in the city anymore.

Already I am hearing rumours of people driving out to Briercrest to get a decent ‘doo’ to speak in the language of the teenagers from the 1970’s.

Although Wayne did not live on South Hill he has to be one of the longest serving businesses on the Hill. He knew everything, everyone and what was happening in that community.

He cut hair for the rich, he cut hair for the poor, he cut hair for many local politicians and he even felt sorry for a Rhino and cut my hair as well.

Wayne told me about the old days of my parents generation when getting a haircut was like getting an oil change. It was coming in getting a trim and then adding a tube, or two, of Brylcreem before heading out for adventure.

It was the era where there was no Fonzie but rather everyone who was cool was the Fonz ehhh…..

If you ever wanted to pay less than $20 for a haircut and spend time with the best psychologist in Saskatchewan here was the place to make a trail to. Because not only did Wayne know a lot about what made Moose Jaw and the world tick he also was one of the best listeners you will ever run into.

You could tell Wayne anything and if it was to be kept silent and not spread around town he was the man to go to.

He was what you would call a barber’s barber.

No Wayne has not passed away but he has simply decided to hang the shears up. After 50 years he at least deserves this but prepare for a crisis.

Here was a guy whose wise words likely saved more than a few marriages but on the other hand he was also a guy whose wise words also hastened a few divorces where they were needed.

Wayne really knew his role in his clientelle’s lives.

I realize this was just a barbershop to some but in many ways it went far beyond going in and getting your hair cut.

It was the stuff made out of Saturday afternoons. Go to Wayne for a haircut then after hearing the news go shoot some stick, pool for the uninitiated, before buying some groceries and heading back to the farm.

This is true Candianna at its’ finest.

As far as family goes Wayne was the tops.

After his wife Shirley got sick and needed his attention Wayne simply hung up a sign saying when he would be back and there usually would be a lineup waiting for him when he returned.

The same went for his kids and his grandkids. If they needed him or there was a ball game or a hockey game they were in Wayne simply hung up a sign and went.

Despite these unannounced closures Wayne never lost his clientelle they simply waited. It was a family first motto all respected.

In fact this past Saturday Wayne informally opened the shop for just family and gave them the final haircuts in the shop and the end of a family legacy.

I last had my hair cut by Wayne in March the day before the COVID - 19 pandemic had the Province declare a State Of Emergency and closed all barberships as non-essential services.

There I was in August with my by then long and shabby hair and with no sign of Wayne’s return I was forced to go to all things a beauty salon.

Talk about a cultural shock as well as one to my wallet as the days of a great haircut and psychological treatment all for $12.50 are now forever behind me.

But I still have my memories as I think about my loss as well as Moose Jaw’s loss in all of this.

I am left with the solace of what Wayne would tell all of his customers when they left the shop and what was his catchphrase “Enjoy The Sunshine.”

I remember telling him “I can’t because it is raining” and Wayne’s response was “the sun is up there above the clouds and tomorrow’s forecast is for hot and sunny weather.”

Enjoy the Sunshine Mr Nielsen and a well deserved retirement - Moose Jaw will most definitely miss you.