Haircuts with Herb by Ed Belote Sr.

Herb Benjamin has been cutting hair in the town of North East, Maryland for more than forty-five years. His barbershop (just off the side of his tackle shop) has become a landmark, and all who visit appreciate Herb’s affable, witty personality. Getting a cut at Herb’s is like stepping back in time; almost like being in Mayberry — the friendship and laughter beckon you to come back for more. Push open that squeaky screen door — come on in and listen...

March/April 2010:
Fishing, Firefighting and the Perfect Day

A lot of times when I walk into Herb’s I’m met by a mob—customers lining the walls and both chairs clipping away. And to be honest with you, under these circumstances getting a good story is difficult because there is so much chatter and laughing, this mossy old brain gets overwhelmed, but so does my digital recorder, so I shouldn’t feel so bad. But this day at 10 a.m., it was just Herb and his hunting and fishing buddy, Ernie Aarrancs from Elkton, who greeted me.

“Slow day, Herb?” I began. “Yeah, you’re right, Ed. Only had three customers all morning. But that’s okay, I can talk fishing whether I’m cutting or just sitting,” Herb replied with a smile.

“Mike and I went ice fishing the other day and we caught about fifteen fat perch; they’re running pretty good,” explained Herb.

Writer’s reflection: Of all the people I know, Herb is most comfortable in his skin. The world, according to Herb, is a playground and the people in it are all his friends and friends are to be enjoyed—to hunt with, to fish with, and to talk with. Always affable and smiling, Herb has got the world by the tail. Oh, I’m sure he has his bad days, but I haven’t seen one of them yet. I envy him. I wish I could get away from this one-eyed monster (computer) and go fishing and hunting with Herb!

“Isn’t your son, Mike, one of the last few commercial fishermen in North East?” I asked Herb.

“Oh, it’s dried up,” said Herb. “Back in 1961, I’d say we had 40 to 50 commercial fishermen here. At that time, one could fish a hundred yards of net and you didn’t need a commercial license. After awhile they did away with that and even the guys who fished commercially dropped out because there was very little money in it. Right now there are few fish. It’s so bad that Mike thinks in the next few years they’ll put a moratorium on it.”

I can see why Herb teamed up with 70 year-old Ernie for their outdoor adventures — opposites attract. Ernie is the quiet, reserved type and Herb isn’t. So, this gives Herb more opportunity to talk. As a matter of fact, as I play back the recording, I can barely hear Ernie.

I asked Ernie how he was doing with the perch. “Oh, I’m doing pretty good. So far this year I’ve caught over 600 of them,” he said through a grin. I asked him what in the world he planned to do with 600 perch. Ernie replied, “I keep just ten of the biggest, but I do keep accurate records. The fishing has fallen off some since the flood and they had to open the gates on the Conowingo dam.”

Chris, Ernie, and Herb

At this time we heard the squeaky screen door and Chris Culler from North East stepped in. Herb introduced him to me, “Ed this young man is Chris and he is a professional fire fighter from Baltimore.”

“You come all the way up here from Baltimore to get a cut at Herb’s?” I asked. Playing along with Herb, Chris replied, “I love this place so much.”

Stirring the pot, Herb said, “People down there cannot believe how bad that haircut is.”
Ernie, in his soft-spoken style got a bit of a zinger in with, “Chris, next time you get in Herb’s chair you should ask for a pair of scissors to defend yourself!” A second before the laughter started, Ernie apologetically blurted, “Just joking, Herb”. The room quickly broke up in laughter. Feigning seriousness, Herb replied, “All right … I hear ya.”

“That’s a pretty good haul for you, Chris,” I noted. “You must love your job.”

“I do love my job. The city is different and it’s 44 miles one way. I work out of the 22 engine, that’s in the northeastern part of Baltimore. I applied all over to get a fireman’s job. I applied from New York to Raleigh, North Carolina, and as far away as Indiana and I even applied for federal firefighter jobs,” replied Chris.

Herb said, “I did not realize how tough it is to get a fireman job, Chris.”

“It’s very tough, Herb. For that Baltimore job I was one of 4,000 applicants and it was two years, four months before I found out I got the job.”

It was a pleasure to meet a fine young man like Chris Culler. He knew what he wanted to do with his life and he didn’t let anything stop him and, like Herb, he loves his job and could not imagine doing anything else.

Nick Letts

I packed up my equipment, put my coat on, shook hands with everyone and headed for the door and walked directly into a dear old friend, Nick Letts from North East.

Grabbing his hand I said, “Nick, how are you doing?” He gave me that patented, “perfect,” that he has given me a hundred times before.

We chatted for a while and he asked me how my “daughter” was doing; he always refers to my wife, Carol, as my daughter. And of course, I inquired about his beautiful wife, Delores.

Cecil Soil has done a few stories on Nick and Delores, who have spent years collecting over 300 photos of Cecil County World War II veterans and posting them on 4’ x 8’ billboards and putting them on display all over the county.

I want to say something to you, Nick and Delores. You both are true American Patriots and we all thank you for your shared service to our country, and you know, Nick, you both, indeed, are “Perfect.” —CSM