Stories from Tri-City News headlines of decades past will be a recurring feature as the publication marks its 40th anniversary in 2024.
John Bedard only charged 60 cents when he first started cutting hair at his Port Moody barber shop in 1957.
In 1991, a trim was seven dollars — eight if you dropped into his one-seat establishment on Clarke Street on a Saturday.
Bedard said the surcharge was to discourage kids from cluttering his shop on a day he deemed for cutting the hairs of "working men" who didn’t want to wait around too long.
"It's been shop policy all along," Bedard told the Tri-City News.
Bedard also didn’t have time for the fancier aspects of his trade. He didn’t do perms, waves or tints.
Just a "real nice, neat trim," he said.
And he still used the same sets of electric clippers he had when he acquired the shop after a run in Wells, B.C., where he said he spent more time fishing than cutting hair, much to the chagrin of his customers.
"The customers got pretty annoyed at me," Bedard said.
The Tri-City News has covered civic affairs, local crime, festivals, events, personalities, sports and arts in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody since 1983. Bound back issues of the paper are available at the Coquitlam Archives, while digital versions of several past years can be found at issuu.com.
