and took the razor from DiBernardo and decided to finish the more difficult right side himself.
When Compagnone grew older he became ill and began to look into selling his shop. Having grown fond of DiBernardo, he offered the shop and equipment to his father for just $ 300. However, DiBernardo discouraged his father from purchasing it, since he was not yet 16 and did not have his official barber’ s license. So instead, Compagnone sold the shop to another local barber, Lee Van Meter, for $ 800.“ Jim made Lee promise just one thing,” says DiBernardo.“ He made him promise to let me stay in the shop and learn until I got my official license.”
Although Compagnone passed away, Van Meter kept his word and allowed DiBernardo to work in the shop while he was studying and coming of age for his barber’ s license. In preparation for the test, DiBernardo learned about things like sanitation and the different blood vessels of the head. When test day finally came, he passed with flying colors and returned to Van Meter ' s shop with his license in hand.
“ As soon as I got to the shop, Lee told me to pack up and take my tools home,” says DiBernardo.“ I didn’ t know what he meant at first, but then he told me he wouldn’ t need me at the shop anymore. I realized that since I had my license, he had lived up to his word and didn’ t want me encroaching on his customers, who often requested me to cut their hair.”
And so, DiBernardo packed up his tools and went home. That night, he had barbers lined up at the door of his mom and dad’ s home, wanting to hire him because he was young and already a promising barber for his age.
The next morning he took the streetcar to Charlie Allesi’ s shop on Harrison Ave. in Swissvale and Allesi hired him on the spot. After working there for some time, another local barber, Mike Spierto, who owned a barbershop in Homestead, pursued DiBernardo and wanted to hire him for his large shop with four barbers, a beauty shop, a manicurist and a shoe shine boy.“ I sure wanted it!” exclaims DiBernardo.“ That was the big time!”
The first chair of a shop with multiple barbers is usually designated for the owner, or the shop’ s best barber. The second chair was the second-best barber’ s chair and so on. When Spierto hired DiBernardo, he put him on the second chair— ahead of two other barbers who had been working in the shop for some time.
“ There’ s something about his haircuts,” says DiBernardo’ s wife of 58 years, Judy.“ They’ ve always been attractive and in demand.”
“ She’ s my boss,” smiles DiBernardo. The two met in 1954 following his service in the Army during the Korean War. DiBernardo spotted Judy in a restaurant while out with friends.“ I told my friends I wanted to meet her and they called her out to the car, but since there was no room in the car, she had to sit on my lap,” he laughs.“ We started dating from that moment on.”
Following the war, DiBernardo returned to Pittsburgh and began renting his own shop in Swissvale, where his wife was originally from. On the first day he opened the shop in 1956 he had a ton of business.
Friends, neighbors and relatives came from all over and were waiting at the door for him. But then the next day— nothing.“ I sat here for three months and had no business!” exclaims DiBernardo.“ Mickey Spierto even came over and told me he’ d give me back my old job at any time, but I told him that I wanted to stick it out in my own shop for a while.”
Haircut by haircut, DiBernardo got his name out there. After three months, business was booming and his shop was packed every day, all day. On average, he did 30 or more haircuts per day.“ When I had worked with other barbers throughout my life, I would watch them and try to learn from them,” says DiBernardo.“ If I got a chance to cut one of their customers’ hair, I did it [ the way ] I knew the customer would like it, but improved it and did my best to make it better. People liked that and then started requesting me, and so my business continued to grow.”
In addition to word of mouth, DiBernardo made sure to pick a spot for his shop that was located on a busy street. With so much traffic, people would see the“ Open” sign from the road and stop in for haircuts throughout the day. DiBernardo officially purchased the property in 1960.
“ I’ ve been lucky to always have good business here,” says DiBernardo.“ I’ ll admit there have been times I’ ve been a bit worried though,” he laughs.“ When the Beatles made the long hairstyles famous in the 1960s, I
John DiBernardo and his wife Judy was considering expanding my business to dog grooming because business went down so badly. But I stopped and said to myself,‘ Wait a minute! Even if the style is long, people will eventually have to get it cut!’ and so I decided to just shape and style the long hair. If they wanted to keep it long, I let them keep it long, but I shaped it all over so it didn’ t just lay flat— and customers liked that a lot!”
DiBernardo’ s haircuts and styles became so popular among men that soon women wanted to come in for service.“ One time, I gave a teenage boy a shag cut hairstyle,” he recalls.“ Then on my lunch break, a lady came into the shop and asked for the same haircut I gave her son earlier in the day. I told her I was sorry, but I didn’ t cut women’ s hair and she said,‘ But you just cut my son’ s hair and gave him a beautiful haircut! I want that same haircut!’ Since I wasn’ t in the business to begin cutting women’ s hair I had to politely decline— but I remember she wasn’ t too happy!”
Now, at age 83, DiBernardo continues to cut hair part time at his shop. He’ s had some of the same clients for more than 60 years and has made many great friends over the decades.“ Barbering was his calling,” says Judy.“ It’ s hard not to get emotional about it. He’ s been doing this for so long and it’ s a part of who he is. You can’ t really fully retire from something that’ s a true passion.”
For more information or to get a haircut, visit Dee’ s Barber Shop located at 2010 South Braddock Ave., open on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 8:30 a. m. to 2:30 p. m. n
Woodland Hills | Summer 2016 | icmags. com 13