Norman Millette, 78, of Old Orchard Beach has been cutting hair at his timeless barber shop on Congress Street for 54 years. A lot has changed during that time, including his clientele and the shop’s name.
Originally called Longfellow Barber Shop, which is still the legal business name, it has been known as Senior Citizen Barber Shop since the 1960’s when young men stopped cutting their hair as part of the “hippie” culture and Millette saw a need to appeal to an older crowd.
“The name just stuck,” he said.
More recently Millette has seen more people from the immigrant community come into the shop, which he says can at times be challenging if they don’t speak English. “They can’t tell you what they want,” he said. “Sometimes they point to a picture on the wall, or they bring a relative who speaks English.”
Meeting different people from all walks of life is what Millette loves about his work. “You never know what you will run into here,” he said, “Nothing surprises you.”
He said he’s had a few famous customers, most notably Gary Merrill, the late American film and television actor, who had lived in Cape Elizabeth and had been married to Bette Davis.
“He was quite a character,” Millette said about the actor, who would often come into Portland to visit Joe’s Smokehouse and then wander over for haircut.
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