THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 16, 1995 TAG: 9502140107
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VICKI LEWIS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
MONDAY AT Bowling Park Elementary School is more than just the beginning of a new school week.
Monday is ``Haircut Day.''
Along with reading, 'riting, and 'rithmetic, many of the boys at Bowling Park are getting a little taken off the top.
Each Monday, longtime Norfolk barber Al Hunter sets up shop in a side room off of the principal's office and cuts boys' hair for free. Some Mondays, he'll do as many as 25 haircuts.
``The kids are really excited about it,'' said Dr. Herman D. Clark, principal of Bowling Park for the past 13 years. ``It's something they really look forward to.''
Hunter has been cutting hair at the school off and on since the late '80s, but more recently he has established a pattern of coming in every Monday.
Clark said that Hunter, who has been his personal barber for many years, wanted to know what he could do to help the children at Bowling Park.
``Most of our children are without some of the basic necessities,'' Clark said. That includes someone with the time and money to take them to the barbershop.
Not only have the hair-cutting sessions gone over big with the students, but they also have gone over well with their parents and guardians, who must give their permission for their child to get a haircut.
Hunter said that at first he was concentrating just on the most needy children, ``but now I find myself doing anyone who needs a haircut. They just tell me what they want, and I do it.''
The most often requested cut: ``The fade.''
Hunter cuts only the boys' hair. He said that he wishes that they ``could get a hair stylist for the little girls.''
He also would like to see other barbers get involved.
``I've been trying to encourage a few,'' he said. ``Maybe they just don't have the time.''
Hunter, who is self-employed, has been cutting hair professionally since 1976. However, Hunter, 42, has been cutting hair for his friends and family since he was 14. His late stepfather was a part-time barber, and Hunter said there were always clippers around the house.
Born and raised in Norfolk, Hunter is a Booker T. Washington High School graduate and attended the old Jenken's Barber College in Norfolk.
``I've cut hair all over Norfolk,'' he said. ``I have a very strong clientele made up of some very faithful customers.''
For the past three years, Hunter has worked at 3510 Colley Ave., which is now the Turning Heads Salon, owned by Deneen Ford. Before that, the shop was called Sheer Magic.
He's also a painter and works with acrylics. Barbering is as much a creative endeavor as painting, he believes.
Hunter's involvement with Bowling Park Elementary doesn't stop with the haircuts.
``He has gone out and bought clothing for the kids,'' Clark said.
Also, Hunter's wife, Penny, put hundreds of hours in at the school as a volunteer before being offered a paid position as a teacher's aide.
The Hunters, who live in Broadcreek, have three children: Dominic, 20, Latrece, 19, and Jeremy, 8. They also have a new grandson, Quincy.
Giving the children free haircuts is more than just about looking good, Hunter said.
``It helps the kid's self-esteem,'' he said. ``It just makes them feel so much better about themselves.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JIM WALKER
Al Hunter gives 9-year-old Chris Hollowell a haircut at Bowling Park
Elementary School.
by CNB