The above barber pole belongs to the Hair Shop of Lawndale, at the Irving Park Shops on Lawndale Avenue. The Hair Shop is one of those places that seems like it has been around forever. One online commenter said he’d been using the same barber there, Ed. for 25 years.

Over the centuries, barbers have served as dentists, surgeons, people capable of bloodletting, leeching, fire cupping, and (according to Wikipedia) even giving enemas. The helix of colored stripes on the barber pole above is a reference to the bloodletting and medical procedures performed in years past. While today’s barbers focus more on haircuts, shaving, and trimming stray ear and nose hairs, barbers are proud of their history and are rather proprietary about the display of barber poles.

The Hair Shop end of the plaza is changing before our eyes. Walgreen’s has left the end spot at Cornwallis and The William Mangum Gallery has moved to Smith Street downtown. Let’s hope that some of the old-school businesses, like the Hair Shop, don’t get displaced. A healthy mixture of old and new keeps a strip mall fresh and current, yet with continuity and a link to the community’s past.