There's been a changing of the guard, so to speak, at one of the oldest barbershops in the area. The Fishermen's Terminal Barber Shop, located next to the Bay Café, now has a comparatively new face attending to the tonsorial needs of whoever walks through the door.
That new face belongs to Arthur "Art" Jenkins, 41, who has himself been cutting hair in the area for the past 10 years. "There are not many of us 'strictly barbers' who are under 40 anymore," says Jenkins with a smile. "Nowadays they're all 'stylists' or 'cosmetologists' or some other thing. Here, I cut hair."
The Fishermen's Terminal Barber Shop is somewhat a throwback to what barbershops used to be. There's no carpet on the floor, just an easy-to-sweep expanse of linoleum or asphalt tile, and friendly conversation.
The shop also doesn't have soft music playing in a waiting area where you can get a latte. Just two barber chairs, pictures of fishing boats from the Terminal on the walls, and a selection of men's-interest magazines ranging from Popular Mechanics and Playboy to various hunting and fishing magazines.
Charlie Green, the former barber at Fishermen's Terminal for 40 years, unfortunately came down with a blood disease last year and now also needs knee surgery. If Charlie is able to ever return to the shop, it will only be on a very limited basis.
Charlie had been operating on an "ap-pointments only" schedule, but now that's changed.
"I'd like to target walk-ins," Jenkins explained. "While I certainly will still take appointments, it's no longer required." His door is open from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays through Fridays, and then he's also open Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Haircuts are $14.
Working for himself, Jenkins is dependent on the number of people who come through the door. "Since I don't get a steady paycheck, I'd like to see a lot of people coming in - so I can continue to live indoors." He'd like to do an average of 15 to 20 haircuts a day. On a busy day he can do as many as 30.
"Barbering is now my way of life," Jenkins told me. "It's the niche that I feel comfortable in; nothing would make me want to change professions."
Jenkins stresses that his is one of the few shops that has access to plentiful free parking.
Talking to Jenkins for a while, I learned that he was born and raised in Chicago. His father was an attorney in the Windy City, and Art was the last of four siblings. He has two brothers and a sister.
Before coming here, Jenkins had moved to New Mexico when he was 19. His parents had moved to Santa Fe, and Jenkins enrolled there at the University of New Mexico. About five years later, he moved on to Albuquerque.
Then, 14 years ago, he came to Seattle with his parents, to visit his sister and her family for Christmas. Like a bunch of the rest of us, he fell in love with it here and stayed.
Jenkins then enrolled in the last barber class taught at Seattle Central University. When he graduated from there, he moved up to the University District. After cutting hair on the Ave for six years, he moved over to Smitty's Barber Shop in Ballard.
Smitty's shop has been open for 58 years. Jenkins put in two years barbering on the other side of the bridge before the opportunity opened at Fishermen's Terminal.
Jenkins is an avid baseball fan. "Growing up in Chicago, every year hope would spring eternal and I'd root for the Cubs. I'm still a fan; the Cubs are my National League team, and the Mariners are my American League team.
"I try to go to as many games as I can; I try to make it to evening and Sunday and Monday games. I watch baseball on TV, too.
"I'm almost obsessed with baseball," Jenkins continues. "During the winter I'm thinking about it every day - I can't wait for spring. I guess my dream job would be to be a baseball scout."
Whenever barbering in Magnolia is mentioned, someone you have to talk to is Gus Traxinger, who, since retiring, has also occasionally cut hair over at Smitty's. Traxinger is a longtime Magnolia merchant and resident, having opened Gus' Village Barber Shop in 1949. Cutting hair with Gus was Ray Van Hook, who started there the first day Gus' shop was open. They both retired in 1992.
"We just cut regular hair," says Gus.
"Years ago," he elaborates, "you had to have at least one year as an apprentice before you could own your own shop, and during that year the owner had to be there the whole time. Now, you just have to go to cosmetology school and you can open a shop.
"The kids who are cutting hair nowadays can't use scissors," he complains. "They just know how to use clippers with a guard."
The community of local barbers is rather close; Traxinger knows Jenkins and his work and pronounces him highly competent.[[In-content Ad]]
