NORTH ADAMS -- Thirty-seven years ago, a wide-eyed 1-year-old Craig Ferris was photographed as his father, George, gave him his first haircut. A similar scene played out Wednesday afternoon at Man's World Styling Salon, as 14-month-old Luke Ferris received his first haircut from his grandfather, George.
"It's really great to have him around to be able to do this," Craig Ferris, 38, said, as he filmed the haircut. "I wish my grandfather was able to be here."
George Ferris, 73, smiled as he moved in tune with Luke, who was busy looking around the Marshall Street barbershop.
"This guy's the champ," he said. "My brothers and I are the third generation [of Ferris men] and this guy is the fifth generation."
Liz Ferris, watched nervously from the side of hair-cutting station, as the tiny pair of scissors in her father-in-law's hands clipped away her son's golden curls.
"Oh my God," she said, as curls floated to the floor. "I can't get over it."
A few minutes later, after the haircut was complete, she seemed more relaxed.
"It looks really good now that it's done," Liz Ferris said. "He looks older."
Cutting hair comes naturally to George Ferris, who joined the family business in 1959, when it was known as Ferris' Barber Shop and located in the Simmons Block on the corner of Bank and Summer streets. His younger brothers, Ronald and Robert, eventually followed suit in 1963 and 1976.
"Our two sisters
The family business has passed through three generations of Ferris men, beginning in 1930 with their grandfather, George Ferris, who opened it as a barbershop on an old portion of State Street, that is now American Legion Drive. The building it was located in was eventually claimed by urban renewal and the shop was moved to a building on the corner of Summer and Bank streets, which was also torn down in the city's urban renewal process.
Louis Ferris took over the family business and brought in his own son, George, in 1963 before it moved to Eagle Street. The barbershop remained in a storefront next to Jack's Hot Dog Stand until The Sheraton hotel opened on Main Street and its management convinced the family to open up inside the hotel.
The shop's new name, Man's World Styling Salon, came with the move. After a decade, the hotel folded and the shop, now owned by the three brothers, moved to the Marshall Street Center, where it remained until 1996, when it was taken over by the Brien Center. The brothers then moved their shop across the street, to its current location, next to Brewhaha.
In addition to having two sisters who are hairdressers, two aunts, an uncle and a cousin also have been in the hair salon business.
To reach Jennifer Huberdeau, email
jhuberdeau@thetranscript.com.
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