By Mike Steen/Guest Columnist
The Star Herald
LEXINGTON —
Fifty years ago everyone knew who their neighbors were and probably spent time visiting with them on the porch. Families usually went to town maybe once a week, usually on Saturday. That trip to town included a stop by the local barber shop every two or three weeks for a trim. In Lexington that barber would have been Billy Zeigler who is celebrating his 50th year cutting hair for most all the residents of Lexington and the surrounding communities.
The familiar barber pole with its turning red and white stripes that signals when the shop is open is still on the side of the building to let everyone know Mr. Zeigler is open for business and ready for a good lively conversation.
The barber shop was a meeting place for friends and a good location for catching up on all the current news and, sometimes, gossip as well as a place to get a trim while enjoying the conversation.
All of the four or five generations of boys who got their first haircuts in Mr. Zeigler’s chair at City Barbershop were treated to a piece of bubble gum to make the experience a little less stressful and something to look forward to. Even the girls and small children that weren’t there for their own haircut were allowed to have a piece of bubble gum.
Mr. Zeigler, a native of Holmes County, served in the U.S. Air Force from 1954 to 1957 where he was a mechanic in the Strategic Air Command working on the U2 spy plane.
After returning from service he went back to school to earn his high school diploma. After graduating he worked as a surveyor for A.P. Carroll and in 1960 he attended barber school in Jackson where he worked as a barber until returning to Lexington in 1962.
In Lexington he worked with Jimmy Edwards next door to the Riley Company on the southwest corner of the square. In 1962 the barber shop moved into the Ellison Building on the West side of the square. After Mr. Orin Westbrook until Mr. Westbrook left Lexington a few years later. About 20 years ago the shop moved into the building it currently occupies on Spring Street just off the square.
Both Mr. Zeigler and his wife, the former Mary Ann Mayo, are natives of Holmes County. Mrs. Zeigler worked for First National Bank (now BankPlus) in Lexington until her retirement after 50 years about a year ago. She was assistant vice president at her retirement.
City Barber Shop, commonly known by most residents as Billy’s Barber Shop is full of mementoes from the 50 years that Mr. Zeigler has been a barber. Items on shelves and hanging on the wall include a 1926 Remington calendar, a number of stuffed deer heads and assorted animals, as well as a bulletin board with photos and business cards that include current businesses as well as many from the past.
One of Mr. Zeigler’s prized possessions in the shop is an antique shoeshine chair with marble slabs. He said it was a gift from former Lexington resident Joe Berman. Mr. Zeigler said the chair came from the railroad station in Durant.
Mr. and Mrs. Zeigler have two sons, Michael, who currently resides in Brandon, and Ricky, who died in a car accident in 1987, and two grandchildren.
