Brine's Barber Shop — A cut above the rest

By Karl Henkel | January 1, 2012 at 12:10a.m.

Century-old barbershop in Girard never goes out of style

GIRARD

Lou Cretella has been a custom- er of Brine’s Barber Shop his entire life.

Cretella, 94, had his first haircut when he was 6 months old, courtesy of the late Joseph Brine.

His most recent cut, in mid-December, came from the weathered hands of Lou Brine, 83, and represented the lasting legacy of one of Girard’s longest-standing businesses.

Cretella is Lou’s godfather, a self-described “faithful” customer whose years of dedication nearly matches the business’s longevity.

Brine’s Barber Shop turns 100 today, an accomplishment as aston-ishing as it is respectable and is recognized by the tight-knit Girard family of 10,255.

“They’ve seen everything there is to see in the Mahoning Valley,” said Jim Melfi, Girard mayor. “It’s a pillar of downtown Girard.”

It’s a pillar that shows no signs of falling.

Brine, a lifelong Girard resident and former football halfback at the high school in the 1940s, still wakes up each morning at 5 a.m. and is at the shop early enough to service those with 8:30 or 9 a.m. shift starts.

Brine, who started cutting hair in 1947, gives each head of hair special attention and is one of few remaining barbershops to still use warm shaving cream on the necks of his customers.

“He’s very meticulous with hair,” said Robert Brienik, a volunteer liaison at the Youngstown VA Outpatient Clinic and a longtime customer.

Meticulous could be the best way to describe Brine, who has remained adamant about bagging his lunch every day for the past 65 years.

“That’s why we have a little bit of money,” he said about him and his wife, Ruth, 81. “That, and we’ve never smoked.”

Brine still enjoys the finer parts of life, most notably splitting firewood and movies.

He still has a small television set that likely couldn’t be bought at a secondhand store, and a library of VHS tapes that rivals the Family Video just a few blocks north on U.S. Route 422.

He’s also quite active, still golfing whenever he’s not at work. (Brine, aside from playing high school football, also tried out for the St. Louis Browns Major League Baseball team; Brine was a right-fielder and batted left-handed.)

Brine hasn’t changed much over the years, but there’s plenty that has.

The current barbershop, at 12 N. State St., is only about 51 years old.

The former liquor store, which Lou Brine purchased for $10,000 in 1959, was a necessity.

The first Brine’s building, at the bottom of the hill on Liberty Street just a few blocks from State Street, was bought out after the former Wegmans Furniture began leaning — literally, pushing down — on the barbershop.

Wegmans bought out Brine’s first barbershop, and the family used the money to purchase its current spot.

What’s changed between then and now?

Lou Brine also recalls the days of 35-cent haircuts in the 1940s; haircuts cost $12 now. (He even recalls the prices when his father started: 10 cents for a haircut and 5 cents for a shave.)

“You could buy a brand-new Chevy for $750 back then,” he said of the 40s.

Those were the glory days, before the steel collapse and the Mahoning Valley population shrinkage.

At that time, Girard was a hopping place.

Even United States Bowling Congress Hall of Famer Bill Beach — a barber himself in Sharon, Pa. before his bowling days — worked at Brine’s Barber Shop for a short time.

It’s safe to say that if it’s happened in Girard the last century, one Brine or another has witnessed it.

As for Lou Brine, he’s not ready for retirement yet, but knows that time will come sooner rather than later.

At the moment, there’s no plans for a third-generation Brine barber, as much as Girard residents want to see it happen.

“It’s very, very rare to see a business last 100 years,” Melfi said. “Can we get another 100 years?”