Serving the Vermont Champlain Valley Area for 45 Years
Saturday May 5, 2018 Edition
Main Sections
Front Page SportsValley VitalsIt's in the StarsStarwiseArchivesLinksAbout The VoiceContact Us







Sharing Memories With Little City Barber Dave Larrow

Looking forward to returning to part time when his health allows, Dave Larrow is passing the torch and the business on!
photo by Photo Provided
Looking forward to returning to part time when his health allows, Dave Larrow is passing the torch and the business on!
Fresh out of high school, Dave Larrow was already into the career that would let him meet and be a part of four generations of Vermonters.
photo by Photo Provided
Fresh out of high school, Dave Larrow was already into the career that would let him meet and be a part of four generations of Vermonters.

Tuesday February 9, 2016

By Cookie Steponaitis

There are very few people in any town that can have a conversation that includes four generations of customers, but Dave Larrow is one of these few. Coming to the Little City in 1970, Larrow was already well into a career as a barber and quickly established his presence on Main Street and in the hearts of generations. With no actual guess as to the numbers of people who have sat in his chair over the years, Larrow does acknowledge that he knows of several families that he is on his fourth generation.  With a quick wit, a genuine love of people and a work ethic that saw few days off in the past fifty years, Dave Larrow simply explains that he loves what he does and he thanks the customers who have allowed him the privilege of doing it for so long.
    Born and raised in Grand Isle, Vermont, Dave grew up in a household where people, cutting hair and conversation were a way of life. His father was a carpenter and farmer, but suffered from a bad heart. In fact, when his uncle loaded his dad in the car and took the train from South Hero with him to Boston for what was at the time revolutionary heart value surgery, Dave’s dad became the oldest person in the USA to have the attempted new procedure. “The surgeon took one look at my dad and turned to my uncle and asked how he had made it down to Boston alive,” reminisced Dave Larrow. “My uncle replied with a blank look on his face, Seagrams 7. The surgeon told my father if he survived the procedure he would live another ten years and that was in fact what happened.” At home, Dave’s mother cut hair at home and went on to become, as far as Larrow knows, the first licensed lady barber in the state of Vermont. Cutting hair well into her late 70’s, Dave’s mom stepped away from the barber’s chair after a remarkable sixty plus years of work. With the barber shop in the house, Dave remembers growing up to a continual stream of locals coming in, stopping to visit with his dad in the living room and proceeding in for a haircut or a haircut and a shave.
    Not intending to follow into the Barber business, Dave spent the last three years of high school working summers at a summer camp as the carpenter and general fix it man. “It was the best working vacation I ever had,” chuckled Dave Larrow. “I had worked on the farm and worked there and mom made me put all that away in the bank. So, when I graduated, I needed a career direction. There was a barber college in Schenectady, New York and we knew a family who lived in Albany. So, I found myself living with them and taking the bus from Albany to the college. It was a six month program and I graduated with that and very quickly got my Masters License as well.”
    It was late 1967 , when working at the Hotel Vermont Barber Shop, when Dave’s unit got the call and left for Vietnam as a member of the 131st Army Corp of Engineers. Married to Helen Larrow, the family was living in the Burlington area and upon his return from his tour of service, began looking for an area to call home base. Working in the Hotel Vermont Barber Shop was great but it was a slow period for barbers and there were four on staff. It was 1970 when Dave caught wind of a Barber Shop up for sale in Vergennes. Owned by Windy Sears, Dave Danyow and Johnny Collette, it was Levi and Jerry Senesac who brought news to Dave and sent in motion the events that made Larrow an icon in Vergennes Main Street life. Located first on Main Street where the liquor store is today, in the summer of 1971 the Small City Barber Shop moved to 5 South Maple Street and is still operating there today.
    Dave’s first customer was Dana Hall, who at that time managed the Liquor Store. “He went over to the bank,” explained Dave with a chuckle, “got a dollar bill, went to Ben Franklin store and bought a frame and some glue and hung it up on my wall where it still is, as the first dollar I made in my shop.” When asked if he ever felt like a therapist or a counselor to his clients Larrow grinned and explained no. “My father used to say if you can’t say a good word about someone, don’t say anything at all.” From the first day his door opened, Larrow had a host of people coming in to chat, get a cut and a shave and to fill him in on the local stories. With so many stories and memories to choose from, Larrow had no problem sharing some with a smile. “We had been there a bit and it was a Sunday,” reminisced Dave. “We were cleaning and painting the shop when there was a knock at the door and a man stepped in. He said ‘Hi, I am Vonly Evarts and as you can see I only have one arm. He stayed about fifteen minutes chatting and before turning to leave asked, ‘Can I borrow 5 bucks!’
    Over the years many people crossed over the threshold of Larrow’s shop for donations or involvement in civic projects and events. Trying never to say no, Larrow found himself not only donating but being involved with the Eagles Club and serving as their president for a period of time.  Quietly, but consistently Larrow made sure that what was going on that he could support he did. He reached out to customers in times of need and often lent more than an eye or a friendly bit of advice. As much a part of the landscape of the town as the buildings themselves, Larrow has been a point of destination for forty-five years in the Little City and for over fifty years in business. As strange as it might sound, Larrow has no photos of himself as a barber and when asked to provide one sent this reporter to ask people who took hair cut pictures of their children. “I just never thought about it,” summed up Larrow. “I was at work and just doing my job.”
    In 1989, Dave added Lisa Trayah to his business and customers found themselves with the choice of traditional barber skills and a trained cosmetologist. Stopping by for his customary cut one day, New Haven farmer Earl Bessette found Lisa in and Dave out of the shop. He sat himself down anyways and got his cut. When he went home that evening his wife asked him “Where did you get that haircut?” and Earl promptly responded with a grin, “I did not get a cut, I got it styled!” Currently working with Dave for the past ten years, Lisa’s sister-in-law Becky Trayah is a graduate of barber school and offers customers the continuity of Larrow’s trademark skills. Not one to seek the limelight, Larrow only agreed to an interview to share with his customers a change is at hand. Since December Larrow has been fighting a serious infection, a major operation and is still facing a long progression of treatments to get his health back. As a result, Larrow will be selling the business to Becky Trayah and will be returning when his health permits on a part time basis.
    “You know the beauty of living in a small town is that change comes gradually,” explained Larrow. “When I started the A& P grocery store was in the building that is next to the Fire Station today. Joel Palmer’s chiropractic business was then a garage and as I walk down the streets I can name each building in its various stages of ownership. Of course Ryan’s was there, Jackman’s, and the Drug Store, but so were other wonderful business like Ben Franklin. Over time, the change is small, but you can depend on the everyone knowing everyone and the friendliness of this town. When I first thought about coming here people told me that Vergennes was special and would go out of their way to make people welcome. They did and I am so happy I opened up a shop here.”  In addition to the support of his customers over the years, Dave Larrow and his wife Sheila have been blessed with the help of neighbors, community groups and friends alike since Dave’s battle for his health began. “ We can’t say thank you enough to those who simply call or come and say is there anything we can do to help. Roger Raymond, Fred Rivers, the Knights of Columbus, the Legion, the Eagles, St. Peters and many more. We thank each and every one.”
    When asked if he could write a book with all he had heard over the years, Larrow smiled and laughed out loud. “I know some people think that barbers are therapists in the lives of their customers,” commented Larrow. “People can rest easy that I listened and talked with them, but did not commit to memory most of it and if I did, I would never tell.” Raised in a time of turmoil, Larrow got his work ethic from his family and Vermont in the World War II years and is thankful for it to this day. He is even more thankful though for the decades of business he has done on the corner of Main Street and South Maple and the wonderful people who continue to come to see him year after year, generation after generation for a haircut, a joke and a conversation to brighten their day. You can look for Dave Larrow to be part time when his health allows and in the meantime there is a lot of joy and thankfulness to go around. Joy from Larrow for the longevity of his career and friendships and deep appreciation and a debt of gratitude from a town and a county that has seen Dave Larrow as barber, friend, community icon and a destination of choice for four generations. “Being a barber involves taking care of people,” summed up Larrow. Addison County knows that and salutes the man who has quietly, humbly, and with skill and humor done that for close to fifty years.


 Printer Friendly  Top
Advertisements


Search our Archives


· More Options



   

Agricultural Weather Forecast:

© 2006-18 The Valley Voice • 656 Exchange St., Middlebury, VT 05753 • 802-388-6366 • 802-388-6368 (fax)
Valleywides: [email protected] • Classifieds: [email protected] • Info: [email protected]