Dennis Simpson, of Simpson’s Shear Shop, in Dexter, Iowa, has been barbering 60 years, as of April 6, 2024.
That’s since 1964!
Upon graduating with the first class of Dexfield High School in 1960, Dennis received a scholarship to attend barber college and worked for a short time before enlisting in the U.S. Navy in 1961, serving as a barber on the USS Ranger. After his discharge, he learned that one of the two barbers in Dexter had had a heart attack. Dennis applied for a job and, after working there for a dozen year, he purchased the Dexter Barber Shop.
Dennis and Dixie Simpson have three children, six grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. He’s active in the community, having been a city council member for a dozen years. His daughter, Dana Vry, joined the business and they’ve worked together for 38 years.
He probably gave haircuts to Grandpa Kenneth Neal and my dad, Warren Neal. He gave son Dan his first haircut during the late 1970s at Simpson Shear Shop on Dexter’s Marshall Street.
My favorite Guy still drives to Dexter so Dennis can cut his hair. (They also talk classic cars.) Dana cuts mine.
Story “Dexter Man Serves Country and Community as Barber for Over 60 Years” by multimedia journalist Roger Riley aired on WHO-TV.
How wonderful! A good barber is hard to find, according to my hubby.
He’s right!
What a wonderful story, Joy. People don’t normally think of a barber making a difference in his community, but here is one special man!
Thank you, GP. I enjoyed learning about his service in the Navy. I believe he was also Homecoming King in high school!
Love, love, love this story! Thanks, Joy. I’ve got a massive smile on my face…so good! 😁
I remember an elderly barber who cut my hair when I was just little–once. He talked to the other customers as he cut, round and round. He must have gotten carried away with his cutting or talking–or both–because when he finished, I had a buzz job!
Perhaps it was his way of keeping certain customers from returning?
Got to respect a man who loves his work. I’d go to him just to listen to some of his old stories.
Pete, yes! That’s one of the reasons we still drive to Dexter for haircuts. Most of the room gets caught up in the banter! He also solved the problem of why my grandfather’s make-shift job during the Depression was keeping the town pump oiled, which was SE of downtown. (Mom had shown me the small brick hut where it sat in a field.) But the main water tower is in the middle of town. Dennis said that the tiny town of Dexter, never more than a population of 800, had two pumps! The one Grandpa Clabe oiled took care of the south part of town. Thanks, Dennis!
Men like Dennis Simpson is what living in a small town is all about! I remember when my brother needed a haircut, my mother would give him a quarter and send to to Mickey Soule, the only barber in town.
That story feels like the beginning of a poem, Liz. What delightful details!
Dennis certainly looks happy in his picture! His stories would be a joy to listen to-especially if he knows your family. And-as I admire your hairstyle-I see that his daughter is talented, too! 🙂
I think Dennis is the most popular person in town! I’m blessed that the curve in my hair was inherited from my dad!
You’re very fortunate! 🙂