Working in the corporate world, Mark Tribble saw firsthand how quickly jobs can disappear.
Tribble was a graphic artist for Bryan Foods in West Point until the company shut its doors several years ago and, already in his 40s, he found himself unemployed. He then faced a dilemma: Begin a new career as a barber, or become a mortician.
Tribble chose the former.
“I figured I”d probably be better with live people than with dead people,” he said Friday morning from Liberty Bell Barbershop on North Lafayette Street in Starkville.
Tribble worked three or four years at Rooney”s Barbershop at University Drive and Montgomery Street, but last March branched out and opened Liberty Bell Barbershop at 100 N. Lafayette St.
So how did you end up in Starkville?
I was born in Grenada, but I went back to Illinois when I was two weeks old because my dad didn”t want to have any kids in Illinois. All of his kids were born in Mississippi. I grew up in a little town in Illinois, about 70 miles south of Chicago. Then my parents retired and went back to Grenada when I was about 17, so I finished high school and came down to Mississippi with them. We built a house out in Tallahatchie County.
Then I got a degree in graphic art and worked for several different places, but I sort of wound up at The Commercial Dispatch, actually, in Columbus. Of course, my wife went to work for Mississippi State, so we decided to move to Starkville. That”s kind of the short, condensed version of it.
When did you start cutting hair and how did that all come about?
Well, I was a graphic artist for Taylor Machine Works (in Louisville) first and then for Bryan Foods (in West Point). Of course, Bryan Foods shut down, but we liked Starkville and I knew I had to do something because, when you reach a certain age, you know you can”t just walk in to some place and get a job anymore. It”s just a little more difficult. So I decided it was between this and being a mortician, and I figured I”d probably be better with live people than with dead people. So I went to attend barber college in Carthage. This was about six years ago.
Why was it between this and being a mortician?
Because I wanted something where I”d always have a job. I have been in the corporate world and I have faced the downsizing, so I really wanted to get out of the corporate world. The only thing I could really think of around here where I could do that is with those two jobs. I just figured people are going to be dying for the foreseeable future and people”s hair is going to be growing for the foreseeable future, so I was kind of just trying to be practical.
When you were a kid, did you ever imagine having your own one-chair barbershop?
Well, you know, I was really influenced by a couple of barbers in my hometown, one of which still is cutting hair. He cut my hair when I was little and now I”m 50. He”s still cutting hair and he”s 76 or 77 or somewhere around there. I always enjoyed going there. The funny thing about the town I grew up in is we had a Protestant barber and we had a Catholic barber in this little town, and I went to them both. I always enjoyed the ambiance of the shop, you know, and in the back of my mind I always thought this would be a nice career. Of course, I didn”t really consider it because I got a degree in graphic art. … You know, I didn”t really consider it seriously, but I always thought it would be kind of neat.
What kind of clientele do you get in here?
Oh, my clientele is the best. I get just regular, working-class folks because I don”t really do any fancy things. I call it “foo foo” stuff. There are plenty of salons around here if you want people to play with your hair and style it. I just cut it. I try to find out what the customers do with their hair. Do they comb it or do they just wash it and go? Whatever they do, I try to cut it so it does what they want, basically. A lot times people cut hair and you leave the shop and it looks great because they blow-dried it and fixed it. Then, you get home and wash it and you have to do all this fixing. Most of my customers don”t want anything too fancy. They just want to get out of the shower, towel-dry it and go, so I just try to do it like they want it.
What other stuff do you do here?
I”m trying to get set up for face shaves. I have to get a little bit more equipment, but that”s something I”m going to offer here soon. The old-timey, straight razor shaves, I”m going to start doing that. Not too many barbers do it anymore because of, well, one reason was because of the AIDS scare back in the 1980s. But it”s just a matter of hygiene. You just keep everything sterilized like you”re supposed to. But, basically, I just do regular haircuts and counseling.
I can imagine you probably hear some stories in here.
Oh yeah. Sometimes people sit down and they just start unloading, so you have to be discrete. You can”t be like, “Guess what so-and-so just said.” I have city (aldermen) that come in and other people who are somewhat prominent in the community and they”ll talk to me, but it”s all in confidence, you know.
But it is funny. People will sit down and just start unloading, especially if there is some kind of a tragedy, like if somebody died or something. They”re thinking about it so they talk about it and I usually just stand back and listen. A lot of times people don”t want any solutions or anything. They just want somebody to listen to them.
They just want to vent a little bit.
That”s right. A lot of older gentlemen are kind of lonely. They don”t really have anybody. For them, this is getting out. They see me fairly regularly because they get their hair cut more often, so I sort of ask how everything is going and try to cheer them up a little bit and make it a pleasant experience for them because this is kind of a customer-driven business. Of course, when I get people I probably don”t agree with totally, I just kind of keep my mouth shut.
What kind of stuff do you do outside of work? Do you have any hobbies or anything?
Well, I”m an upright bass player. I like bluegrass the best. I play with Bill Cooke. We have a little band that plays music from the ”50s and ”60s called Can of Worms. We”re playing up at Anthony”s (in West Point) on Wednesday. I also like to do art, still. I like to draw. I also still do a fairly good bit of freelance graphics.
Of course, I also have kids. That can keep you kind of busy, too. I have an old house on West Main Street that”s about 100 years old, so that keeps me busy, as well. I do a fairly good amount of work on it. With a 100-year-old house, there”s always something to do.
Do your hands ever get tired cutting hair all day and playing music at night?
No, actually. I think having the big bass has helped a lot. Actually, I had more trouble with carpal tunnel syndrome when I did computer work all day because, with this job, you use different motions with your hands.
What are some of the difficulties of being a barber and running your own business?
I guess the economy is the biggest challenge because a lot of people put off getting haircuts or do it themselves, which is fine — I certainly understand that — but that”s probably the biggest challenge, the economy.
What do you enjoy most about the job?
Talking to people. I like people, meeting people, talking to people. And usually people are a little bit happier when they leave, you know, if their hair was getting on their nerves and they just wanted it off.
It”s literally a weight off their shoulders.
Yeah, literally. They just want it off. Then I have some customers that I”ve become pretty good friends with. Stanly Godbold, he wrote the (Jimmy) Carter book, he and I have become fairly good friends. So I”ve also developed a friendship with some of my customers, which is nice. I enjoy it.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.