At Harvey's Barber Shop, the haircuts come with laughter, stories -- and a sense of family
When Ray Harvey started cutting hair more than 50 years ago, David Youmans was among his first customers.
Ray's father, Furman, who opened Harvey's Barber Shop in 1936, had cut Youmans' hair before that.
Youmans remembers going to the shop as a kid and trying to sneak into the pool hall in the back.
Years later, Youmans took his son Michael to the shop on Beaufort's Bay Street for his first haircut.
Michael remembers squirming in the barber chair and Harvey having to hold his head still as he cut.
He remembers using the shop's squirt bottles as water guns in battles with his siblings. The warring factions sometimes turned on Harvey, ganging up to soak the barber in his own shop.
On Wednesday evening, Michael Youmans' son James, 1, became Harvey's newest customer as the three generations got their hair cut.
"This is the joy," Harvey said. "It's a great feeling to hold onto customers for this long, and to get the next generations. It's why I survive, and why I thrive."
FROM ELVIS TO MCQUEEN
Harvey began cutting hair in 1962, working for his dad.
He remembers when President Lyndon B. Johnson came to town on short notice in 1963, and how Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island rushed to get personnel clean-cut for the presidential visit.
Ray's brother Johnny gave 97 haircuts that day. Ray gave 103. Dad Furman trimmed 260 heads.
Ray and Johnny now co-own the shop.
Ray Harvey said he has stationed himself at every chair in the six-chair shop except the front one.
That one belonged to his dad, who passed away in the early 1990s.
"That was dad's chair," Harvey said.
The shop has long list of regular customers.
Michael and David Youmans, for example, have a standing appointment with Ray every Wednesday.
Harvey has also seen hair styles trend and fade.
He has cut everything from the Elvis Presley pompadour to the Beatles moptops to Steve McQueen's twist on the classic side part.
When he started, Harvey charged 85 cents a haircut. His prices have steadily risen over the years -- now up to $17. He keeps a handwritten log of the price increases in his shop.
"And then it'll go up in January," David Youmans joked.
"No, the price isn't going up in January," Harvey corrected.
"Really?" Youmans said. "Then let me buy you a drink."
FRIENDS AND FAMILY
There were four men in the shop Wednesday night, long after closing time. All had standing earlier appointments.
They made themselves drinks from the refrigerator in the back as they waited for a haircut, or hung around afterward to socialize.
They talked about their recent vacations, what their nieces and nephews were up to and how South Carolina football is going. They told tall tales and lies about each other. They argued about where to get the best burger in Beaufort.
All of it was punctuated by laughter.
"We all just sit talking about the past and the future," Ray Harvey said.
Harvey, 71, doesn't have anyone to pass the shop down to, but he's looking for options.
He wants the family business that brought out the best in his family to live on.
Outside the shop, Harvey considers himself an introvert.
But when he's cutting hair, he's in his element -- some would say at his best.
"You could say I'm a sort of psychologist," he said. "I just don't get paid for it."
Inside the shop, Harvey always has a laugh, a smile and a story to share.
Inside the shop, he's serving customers he calls friends and considers family.
Follow reporter Laura Oberle at twitter.com/IPBG_Laura.
This story was originally published November 19, 2014 at 9:37 PM with the headline "At Harvey's Barber Shop, the haircuts come with laughter, stories -- and a sense of family."