History was recently made in Boyd as Donald “Jim” Kowalczyk came out of retirement for a day to snip the hair of a young lady. It just so happens this young lady, Daelynn Carroll, is the …
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History was recently made in Boyd as Donald “Jim” Kowalczyk came out of retirement for a day to snip the hair of a young lady. It just so happens this young lady, Daelynn Carroll, is the 5th generation in the Pilgrim family to have her hair cut by Jim the Barber.
It all started many years ago when Jim first cut the hair of great-great grandpa Edwin Pilgrim. This was followed by Edwin’s son, Denny being in the chair. Years later Denny’s son, Dan, Daelynn’s grandpa, came under Jim’s scissors. Next up was Dan’s daughter Leah getting the cut. And now to complete the 5th generation, Jim came out of retirement for one day to cut the hair for Leah’s daughter, Daelynn, who turns 4 later this month.
Jim, who originally hailed from Gilman, moved to Boyd in 1964 and started cutting hair in Sam’s Barber Shop on the north side of Murray St. A couple years later he opened up shop in the building next to the Big B grocery store on the south side of Murray St and ended up cutting hair there for over 40 years. He also cut hair in Cornell, Gilman, Jim Falls, Stanley and was contracted out by the Northern Center for many years. It’s hard to determine the number of cuts he’s given but the number is surely in the thousands!
Jim’s son, also named Jim, had some friends that gave Jim the barber the nickname of “Butcher” because he gave really short haircuts! These short cuts were not especially appreciated by son Jim as he was entering high school in the 70’s, when long hair was the fashion. The long hair Jim had sported became a thing of the past with a new crew like cut (which he still has today). Jim says “Thanks Dad for being not only my father but also my barber”.
Donald “Jim”, who is 89 years old, says he retired “about 20 years ago”. Many of the people in and around Boyd will remember sitting in Jim’s barber shop, shooting the breeze and getting a good cut. Saturday mornings found many locals sitting at the barber shop, not to get a haircut but to hear the latest gossip. Tom McQuillan, long time resident of Boyd says with a chuckle, “it was always entertaining at the barber shop”.
