and manufactured in the Illinois town of the same name.

... and probably more customer losses to come. Mr. Pennepacker lost another customer in March 1943 when my father was drafted and left for the Army.

My barber of 40 years wears a blue shirt because children associate the white shirt with a doctor’s office which usually involves inoculations.

As a kid I was fascinated with how many different positions the barber's chair could be adjusted. The foot plate had ornate scroll lettering of the manufacturer. At a very early age the barber used at special platform to elevate a boy to a higher level -- one is visible sitting on the floor below the non-dial telephone. The platform had brackets to attach to the handles of the chair. It was rite of passage when you were old enough to sit in the chair without the platform.

If some art director for a movie had to come up with a barber shop for a scene set in 1942 and produced this one, you could be excused for saying it’s far too perfect and beautiful. The wall tiles (dark below, white above), the gorgeous light sconces, the chair itself, the two matching glass panels on the cupboards flanking the barber, those two identical bottles underneath the cupboard on the right – all so perfect and beautiful. Extra marks to the worn whisk broom which I magically feel on the back of my neck. But I have to ask: what is that device standing on an angle under the phone? If I had to guess, I’d say a booster seat for a child.

Stored in the recess below the phone is a seat that will rest on the barber chair arms to boost the height of a small child when they come in for a haircut.

I wonder if the shoeshine boy has polish under his seat to keep the barber's light colored shoes looking good?

I recognize the Iron Cross on the lower cabinet drawer, but wonder what could be sticking out of Herr Pennepacker’s shirt by his neck?

[It's called ... an ear? - Dave]

Dave - usually sarcastic, but ALWAYS right

I wonder if Mr. Pennepacker covered up the drawer with the iron cross symbology?

The man in the mirror looks like Floyd the Barber (for those of you old enough to remember "The Andy Griffith Show").

This image makes me almost smell the barber shop of my youth. The antiseptic, aftershave, and obligatory piece of Bazooka chewing gum I'd get as a kid, all combined for an unmistakable smell.

I thought the same thing!

This shot sure brings back memories of going to the barber as a young boy. They always had those uniforms that made them look like doctors.

"Yeah, I need a haircut and a shave. Tomorrow I'm taking the misses into Philly to see some new play. It's called Sweeney Todd. She said it's about a barber, what a coincidence. What could a whole play about a barber be about? Who closed the blinds?"

I'm pretty sure that the fellow reflected in the mirror, awaiting his turn under Mr. Pennepacker's razor, is going to say, make me look less like Adolf Hitler.