DuluthCommunityNews

Ulrich then paused and looked at the two men who were patiently waiting for their own cut. “Who’s next,� he says with a smile, while motioning to the chair.

Cutting hair is what Pete Ullrich does and what he has been doing for over 40 years. He is the fourth generation in a family line of barbers, starting with his great grandfather who was a barber surgeon in Kaiser Wilhelm’s German armed forces during World War I.

Pete Ulrich stands by an old-fashioned barber chair in the Lakeside barber shop.
(Photo by Paul Budd)

“I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else,� he says. “I’ve never gotten up in the morning and not looked forward to coming to work.�

Ullrich is the owner and head barber of Pete’s Lakeside Barbershop on the corner of Superior Street and 45th Avenue. He’s owned the shop since he purchased it from Fred Anderson in 1999, however the shop has been a landmark in the Lakeside District since the 1920s.

Outside the shop is a classic red and white barber pole and inside, the shop has three old- fashioned, red leather barber’s chairs.

Ullrich has also developed a respect among his regular customers who value his professionalism and care when it comes to cutting hair.

“I’ve had some customers for over 40 years,� says Ullrich. “Some even who my dad was giving haircuts to before I was.�

“You don’t get that at a Cost Cutters,� says Jim Wright, Ullrich’s partner and the only other full time barber at the shop, as he watched Ullrich giving one man a haircut while talking to him as if they had known each other their whole lives.

There is no question about Ullrich’s dedication to his job.

Just observing Ullrich cut hair is like watching a skilled carpenter who has perfected his art through hard work and plenty of repetition.

He pays attention to the small details and slowly works from one part of the head to the next. Hair in one hand and clippers in the other, he takes off just the right amount, in just the right spots. Once he has finished with the clippers, he brings in the buzzers to crop and then always finishes with the straight razor and hot shaving cream.

The straight razor is something you won’t find in a fancy hair salon or a cheap, in-and-out haircut chain. Only in a barbershop such as Pete’s, where the barber takes pride in every haircut and strives to make sure no stray hair goes uncut and no customer leaves unsatisfied.

And rarely does a customer ever leave Pete’s Lakeside Barbershop unsatisfied with the haircut he’s received.

After his day is done, the customers gone and fellow barber Jim Wright gone as well, Ullrich begins to clean up the shop.

“I still love the job and hope to still be doing it when I’m 70,� says Ullrich as he turned the “open� sign in the window to “closed� and begins to mop up the muddy floor.

Slowly dragging the wet mop from one side of the floor to the other, the barber removed the dirt and slush; the results of another long day.

“I’m here five days a week, from open to close,� he said. “And I’ll do it all over again tomorrow.�

Once he has finished cleaning the floor, he rinses out his mop bucket, turns off the lights, steps out into the cold night, and locks the door behind him.