Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
After 30 years, Terry the Barber closes his doors
Terry " the Barber" Vietz takes a break from cutting hair in Colfax to read a newspaper. The picture was taken a few years ago.
COLFAX - It took something huge to get Terry "the Barber" to close his barbershop in Colfax after 38 years of haircuts and conversations.
It took cancer.
Terry Vietz was recently diagnosed with terminal cancer, said his wife, Jacqueline Mitzimberg-Vietz.
He decided to become a barber after being a logger. The logging jobs began disappearing owl habitat ended numerous jobs and decimated the logging industry. In 1981, Terry attended barber school graduating the next year.
In 1983 he started cutting hair in Pullman and a year later opened a barbershop in Colfax on Wall Street before moving to 290 Main Street. He moved the shop down two doors in 2016 but moved it back in 2017.
The shop was always full of conversations.
"Some would come in just to talk to other people. It was like a visiting place," said Mitzimberg-Vietz. "Everybody enjoyed coming to see him. If they didn't get their hair cut they just enjoyed visiting with the guys who were there."
Generations have had their hair cut by Terry.
"His customer list was long. Everyone in the county came to have him cut their hair," said Mitzimberg-Vietz. "He loved visiting with his customers. He loved cutting their hair."
Terry hired a second barber, once. It didn't last long. Mitzimberg-Vietz said he had to fix the other barber's work so much he let her go.
Terry was a traditional barber working in a vest and using a straight razor for shaving.
"He was an old school barber ... no cosmetology whatsoever," she said.
His barbershop remains with closed doors, but not forever. Mitzimberg-Vietz said the landlord Kim Nguyen plans to open the shop as a museum for the last barber in Colfax.
Bill Stevenson is the former editor of the Whitman County Gazette, Colfax Daily Bulletin and Franklin Connection. He has nearly 30 years of journalism experience covering news in Eastern Washington.
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