A chapter has closed in downtown Fairhope. In Old Fairhope. Vernon, the last of the two barbers in Ken & Vernon’s Barber Shop, has died.
Men going to get their hair cut on Monday were shocked to see a black wreath and flower arrangement on the locked door. It was true. Vernon had died at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
Ken had died a few years ago, so Vernon kept the tradition.
Ken and Vernon had the shop going for over half a century, since 1967. When men of Old Fairhope were asked, “How long has that barber shop been open?” most would answer, “I have gone there my entire life.”
When I first moved to Daphne in 1989, I was told about this traditional barbershop that took walk-ins and cash. I started going there to get my hair cut. I also got an earful of local news. Ken & Vernon's was news central for the goings-on of Fairhope and Baldwin County.
Vernon was to Fairhope what "Floyd" was to Mayberry. Remember Floyd the Barber from "The Andy Griffith Show?" No one knew Floyd’s last name. No one ever called him by anything but “Floyd.” It was the same way with Vernon and Ken. That’s all the name they needed.
The shop is located at 317 Fairhope Avenue, on the main north/south street of Fairhope. It is near the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce, the newspaper, many neat shops and places to eat, and the ice cream shop, so Vernon gave kids waiting in his shop cards for free ice cream cones. Ken would give the waiting kids a piece of bubble gum.
The historic building housing the barber shop was built in 1932. It also housed a restaurant and a shop.
Randy Niemeyer of Ashurst Miemeyer Real Estate had said about Vernon:
“The man can operate the scissors like a surgeon, he’s an artist with the electric trimmer, and will even shape those wayward ear hairs into the most modern styles.”
Hollie Woodard MacKellar, a Realtor with Local Property, Inc., posted:
A Fairhope Treasure: Ken & Vernon’s Barbershop
Some things change, but some things—thankfully—stay the same. Walking from my office to the bank today, I couldn’t help but pop into Ken & Vernon’s Barbershop, a Fairhope staple that has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.
And what did I find? Vernon, finally off his feet, relaxing in one of his own barber chairs! I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before, and the sight made me smile.
My dad has been getting his hair cut here for my entire 50 years of living in Fairhope. It’s places like this that make Fairhope feel like home—where memories are made, traditions last, and the people inside are just as much a part of your life as family.
Here’s to Ken & Vernon’s, to small-town charm, and to the places that keep our roots strong.
Carla Wood of Fairhope wrote, "My boys, Mark & Michael Brown, got their first haircut there; they are now 56 & 48 years old!"
Michael Lipscomb of Foley posted, "Got my hair cut there since I was 4. Now 55. Enjoy it till it's gone. It's the last of the old Fairhope. First it was Gaston Ford. Then Bedsoles. Bens BBQ .Then the ice cream parlor. It'll never be the same as when I roamed the streets as a kid. Living where the Fairhope Inn is today. Walking just across the street to go to school."
"If the family were to find a new, younger barber and try to keep the shop open, it might not be the same. It could be in the same place and with the same old-fashioned interior, but without Ken, and now without Vernon, it would not be Fairhope of 1967," he added.
Notice I wrote this entire article and never said Vernon’s last name. That’s because I don’t know his last name. Most customers of his only know “Vernon the Barber.” I have three people calling around now trying to find out what Vernon’s last name is. They didn’t know either.
Goodbye, Vernon. Vernon the Barber. Old Fairhope.
Jim ‘Zig’ Zeigler’s beat is colorful and positive about Alabama — its people, places, events, groups, and prominent deaths. He is a former Alabama Public Service Commissioner and State Auditor. You can reach him for comments at [email protected].
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