V, Aug.28V2006 A tradition of excellence continues in downtown Logan BY HOLLY MITCHELL Assistant Features Editor For Fred Smith, every head is a new challenge. He owns King Hair on Main Street in Logan. "It's a hairy business, but we're still hanging in there," Smith said. Just over 5 feet tall with his own dark brown hair slicked down, Smith runs from room to room in his barbershop, cleaning after a day at work. He has been a barber for a long time. After his father put him through barber school so he would have something to fall back on, Smith majored in business at USU while working part time at the family business, called Modern Barber Shop. One day, one of his father's main barbers quit and he said he would fill in full time for a while. Tve been here ever since," Smith said. But he doesn't regret it. He said he wonders what would have happened if he had done something else, but the hair business has been good to him. Visiting with people and cutting hair are the things Smith says he likes to do best. Tve met a lot of people and cut a lot of hair," Smith said. "Some famous, some not." Smith said he would never have the chance to meet the people he has if he wasn't in the hair business. He boasts that he has cut the hair of almost all of the coaches at USU. Other notables include former presidents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ezra Taft Benson ,and Howard W. Hunter. working for him. Now the store has 30 stylists. Smith said he was one of the first to combine men and women. "Now they can bring the whole family," Smith said. The biggest risk Smith says has made in his life was starting King Hair. "People probably thought I was crazy," he said. "I know my dad did." Even though it was risky at first, Smith said it has worked out great for him. "It's a demanding business," Smith said. "It's like milking cows. I'm the first to come and the last to leave. You pay the price." Smith said anyone wanting to start their It's a hairy business, but own business should we're hanging in there/' realize it is going to Fred Smith require long hours and hard work. — Hair and people are Smith's passions, but his great sense of ing they are in now, at 118 humor and love for Diet N. Main in Logan. Linda Coke get him through, said bought the building because Maria Jones, a stylist at she was working at the King Hair. Smith's grocery store at Jones said it is great to the time and making more work for Smith because he money than Fred. treats everyone like they are "It's in my name," Linda his family. He is helpful and said. "Fred is worried." always supportive of a good Before they bought the cause, she said. building, which was previ"He looks out for us and ously a bakery, they had to our best interests," Jones clean it out and remodel, said. but almost lost the space She said he will always because they didn't have the ask them 'What's the word?' money to get the facility up and always tells them about to city code requirements. his "wild days with his Thankfully for the Corvette." Smiths, they were able to Smith is always working, keep their shop after replac- Jones said — even on his ing the roof and removing day off. She said he is a very the huge ovens inside the hard worker. building. "There's not much unique "The reason we're OK is about me," Smith said. "I'm because we've both worked just a barber." hard and what we have is Not according to the people paid for," Linda said. At first, King Hair was a • KING HAIR traditional barbershop and see page 17 Smith had three barbers Smith says he doesn't get caught up in the gossip usually found in a barbershop, but he hears plenty. "People tell us a lot of things we don't want to know," Smith said. "Tilings we don't care to know, but they'll tell you." King Hair started in 1971 when Smith bought Modern Barber Shop from his father and changed the name. Smith and his wife, Linda, decided to move the barbershop to the build- Speak Up Holly Mitchell/holtyadams@ccu$u.edu '. KING HAIR IS LOCATED at 118 N Main Street in Logan. The bright blue and white stripe barber pole is a symbol of the small town barber shop which,; has been running in Logan since 1971. Do you want to be a writer? Come to the Statesman open house TODAY from 4:30-6:00 p.m. and learn how you can become a Statesman staffer and earn some extra cash this semester. You do not need to be a journalism major to apply. 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