I always wondered who lived on that property where Five Mile bends west, south of 275, and appears to dead end into Markley. Every time our family would go to Withrow Nature Preserve or down to Kellogg for whatever reason, my daughter Savannah would always point out the grazing horses there. Thanks to a tip on my Beechmont Stories Facebook page, I now know who kept those horses.
Meet Chuck Senior
Chuck Senior was the owner and operator of the Beechmont Barber Shop in Mount Washington from 1972 to February of this year. Although he took ownership of the shop in 1972, he cut hair there as an associate starting in 1967. That means Chuck has been cutting hair in the same building for 52 years.
Chuck invited me into his home and called me a son of a bitch before I could even sit down. “Where the hell are you coming from? Alice’s Wonderland?” he asked, sounding serious but wearing a friendly smirk.
His home, a remodeled church, was warm and comfortable, especially coming in from the cold during the year’s first snowfall. We sat at a table near the kitchen as a fire crackled in a massive fireplace that reached up and beyond the vaulted living room ceiling.
“My uncle built that fireplace for me,” Chuck said. “He wouldn’t let me pay a dime for it.” A ceiling fan above the fireplace spun gently. “That fan ain’t even on,” he said pointing to the turning blades. “That’s just the heat pushing it.”
I think Chuck was prepared to discuss the history of the local area, but I told him I was more interested in his personal life. I told him how his name came up when I asked about notable people in the area. Even though it threw him for a bit of a loop, he seemed more than willing to share his personal story.
How it Started
Chuck was born April 4, 1943 to Charlie and Marianne Senior. After the war Chuck’s dad, Charlie, worked for a box company and his mother, Marianne, worked at the Mt. Lookout Lanes bowling alley. Later she would work in the cafeteria for Anderson schools. Chuck had one sister, Bonnie, who died from a stroke at 57 years old, the same age their father also had a stroke.
Chuck’s favorite memories growing up were with his dad hunting and fishing. “For a while my dad always said I was too little. I would set an alarm clock in a pot my mom had so it would wake me up in the morning so that way he couldn’t go out without me. But he’d sneak in and shut the alarm off,” Chuck told me with a smile. “Eventually my mom forced him to take me out and he did. They were great times.”
After graduation from Anderson in 1961, he carried bricks for his uncles who were masons. “I was built like superman,” Chuck said.
The Draft
Eventually, Chuck would enter barber college. It wasn’t long after that he would be drafted for military service. But since Chuck was enrolled in barber college, he was given the opportunity to join a National Guard reserve unit in Batavia. After basic training at Fort Knox, Chuck grew close with the guys he trained with and called his mother up to tell her he wanted to fully enlist.
“She said, ‘I’ll come down there and beat your ass, don’t be signing no papers. Your dad came back with shrapnel, your uncles had issues. You don’t need to do this son. This isn’t our war.’ Back then I thought what does my mom know about all this stuff? But she was right because let me tell you something; I corresponded with quite a few guys I was in basic with and eventually the letters quit coming. Those boys didn’t come back from Vietnam.”
The Barber
After barber college, Chuck worked for Charlie Mullins at Charlie’s Barbershop in Forestville where Kunkel’s stands today. Then he worked in Silverton for a bit then New Richmond then finally Mount Washington. In the late 1960’s the barber industry took a hit from fashion trends. “After the Beatles, everyone started growing their hair long,” Chuck told me. A lot of the old timers called it quits and younger barbers like Chuck made their move. That’s when Chuck bought out the owner of Beechmont Barber Shop back in 1972 and has been the owner ever since.
Chuck was married, but the marriage ended in a divorce. Before their separation, they adopted a little boy, Chucky, and fostered a little girl, Jean. Chucky died unexpectedly back in 2007 and Chuck is still close with Jean to this day. Today Chuck has a longterm girlfriend, but they don’t live together. “I don’t want to live with anybody,” Chuck told me.
Chuck agreed to show me his former barbershop and let me take some pictures. I heard about the head and shoulder imprints imposed on the wood paneling by a half century of waiting customers. Like ghosts, the silhouettes still appeared to be waiting for their haircuts in the empty shop. Chuck hopes the property owners will gift him the iconic wood paneling when they eventually remodel the space.
During our travels, Chuck cruised around his old stomping grounds and gave me a little history lesson of the area. “This is an old guard shack from Camp Procter,” Chuck showed me.
Camp Procter was an old training camp on a plateau off Four Mile that overlooked the Ohio River. It was used to train troops during the first World War.
“This is the field I used to ride my horse in during the summer to impress the girls in the neighborhood,” Chuck said laughing.
Retirement
“What made you retire and close the shop?” I asked him.
“It was a Monday morning, I wasn’t feeling too good, thought I had a sinus infection or something,” Chuck told me. “I went up to the dairy up on Markley on my way to work, got a cup of coffee and a jelly doughnut because my sugar was low. The clerk told me, ‘Chuck you look terrible.’ I said I feel terrible.”
Chuck said when he got back in his truck, he noticed everyone staring at him. “I must have looked really bad. I took two bites of that doughnut and my stomach started pulsating and I had a heart attack.”
Chuck ended up driving himself to Mercy Anderson. “After I parked my truck I’m walking up the hill, got my driver’s license and medical card in my hand – by this time I can’t talk and I’m out of it and the lady at the window says I got a co-pay. So reached in my pocket and threw a hundred dollar bill at her. Money talks and bullshit walks.”
After about a week in the hospital, Chuck had quadruple bypass surgery to remove several blockages in his heart. “We all think we’re bulletproof, but we’re not,” Chuck said.
It was his health that influenced his decision to retire. “I’m 76 years old. I don’t need to work. I like to work, but I don’t need to.”
I asked if he was lonely without his shop. Chuck said he wasn’t. “I got too much going on.” I had no reason to doubt him about that since his phone rang repeatedly during the short time I was with him – people checking in on him, scheduling a time to visit with him.
I asked Chuck what he misses most about closing his shop. “I miss being in the loop,” Chuck answered. “I knew everything that was going on. You see it all and hear it all, and all you gotta do is keep your mouth shut.”
Read the follow up to this story, here.
Did you miss Beechmont Stories: A Rich Historical Connection? Check it out here.
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I love your stories and they are so well written. Thank you for taking the time to shine the light on our community.
Thank you Kerry! It’s my pleasure! And thanks for reading!
I will always be forever grateful to Chuck. My youngest son was 18 months old and up until then I had, much to the dismay of his father, refused to cut his adorable curls. I received a call, a day after my son’s father died, instructing me to respond to Chuck’s shop so my son could get his hair cut for his dad’s funeral. I’ll never forget how amazing Chuck was with my son…..and me. He had finished cutting those beautiful curls, diligently gathered them up and put them in 2 separate bags. One for me….and one to be buried with his dad. I never told Chuck why I was there. Someone else had spread the word to him. When it came time to pay for his services…..he refused to accept any payment….even a tip. Just sent my son and I on our way with his sincere condolences. Chuck…..if you’re reading this…..I will always be grateful to you and your extraordinary kindness to us during the most difficult time in our lives. My prayers and love go out to you in your retirement. May God bless you as you have blessed others!❤
Thanks for sharing this story Tami! I don’t think Chuck does the internet, but you gave me the idea to revisit Chuck very soon and share any and all remarks to him, especially this one! Then I’ll do a write up on his response.
Thanks Brian .. I got this story on Chuck over e-mail.I called him right away and told him he was famous,you can imagine his response which is why i didn’t print it.When i took the copy down to him so he could read himself…he got a real charge out of it and yes there was pride.Chuck does have emotions … doesn’t show but has them.Anyone that knows Chuck “The Barber” knows he’s also got a real big heart.He deserves a picker upper once in awhile.Thanks Brian and enjoy your articles … Be Careful Out There
Thanks for the update Tim! I’m so glad Chuck liked it. Thanks for showing it to him.
Thank you for sharing his story. I’ve lived in Anderson for 33 years and love learning about the history and the people in it.
Your stories are always beautifully written.
Thank you! WB
Thank you for the kind words Wendy!
Thanks for the story. I grew up on the area, Anderson HS grad 1984, and recently retired Law Enforcement Officer. Glad to see anyone finding life after retirement.
I have heard so many stories in passing about Chuck. Thank you for doing this story about him.
I’ve worked in Mt. Washington for 25 years and have known Chuck for as many years. What a great guy! The community is just not the same without him!
Thank you Brian for such a great article!
Miss you Chuck. Only you or Charlie has cut my hair in the last 30 years. Thank you for the memories. Always fun to hear the harassment. Your breed is leaving us, nd it is sad. I want to come and do donuts in your yard in the Chevelle, let me know when you are ready.
Thanks Chuck,
from all of us that you literally touched over the years.
You cut my father’s hair, my hair, gave my son his first hair cut, and my grandson his first hair cut.
You will always be a huge part of the Mt Washington persona and I hope for a great retirement off your feet, you’ve earned it.
Thank you Brian, for giving the Beechmont Community an opportunity to know more about a legendary Beechmont businessman and exceptional friend to hundreds of men. Chuck has always been a deeply caring people person. For years he has been the repository of wisdom and humor for multi-generations of families. His loyal customers came from both near and far, to relish the “humanity” of Chuck. He is a”community business mover and shaker”, customer’s confidant, a stellar role model to the young (and old), and always practices Christian Charity from his heart. And, he is one of the finest barbers in the entire region. No one can fill the massive hole in the Beechmont community Chuck’s retirement opened. Chuck is Legend in many families, as in mine. He has no understanding of the huge positive impact he has had on so many. Everyone wishes him the best in his retirement. He is the best!
Thanks for the excellent story and photos. I have known Chuck Senior since we were classmates, starting in 1948 at the Anderson Township School and continuing through graduation from Anderson High School in 1961, the final class to graduate from the Beechmont Avenue building.Today my office is in the old National Guard Armory building in Batavia, where his unit met. I think Chuck was the only boy in the third grade who raised goats, trapped fox, and had his own horse, and he has been a mainstay of the community ever since.
Enjoyed an amazing story about an extraordinary man! My husband, Rick, would always take our son for his haircuts as I wasn’t allowed! I was told the rule was “No Women Allowed Mom”! You better believe I never crossed the threshold of Chuck’s Barber Shop! Although finally Mom was the one that had to take him and I just sat in my car. So Chuck sends my son, Brandon to the car with a “gift”! They had taken a sour piece of gum and exchanged it in a regular wrapper and given it to me (bc my son knew I hated sour). I was told to open it right then and I know it was so Chuck could see my expression as I bit down on that gum! Much laughter! The next haircut, I decided I needed to go in and sit, and I felt welcomed and understood how special a place Beechmont Barber 💈 is and Chuck is an icon!
Chuck was friends with both my father and grandfather. I grew up occasionally visiting Chuck and always being excited to pet his rabbits, horses, chickens, whatever he had around–the one rule being NEVER chase the chickens… We would also go to White’s Farm in Indiana very early on Wednesday mornings which wasn’t much fun for a little girl unless Chuck was coming with us. With Chuck I knew I would be getting a special treat, a hand to hold and someone who always had something unexpected or silly to say to make me laugh. This made it easy to think of him as a second father growing up and even still today. He is a kind, hard-working, good-humored gentleman–they just don’t make ’em like Chuck anymore!
thanks for that story Brian. Chuck sounds like quite a character. I cannot imagine the stories he could tell.