After 72 years, the town's only barber hangs up his hair clippers.

GLENWOOD CITY, Wis. — A gallery of historic photos is displayed along the walls of Glenwood City's only barbershop.

“That was the first Cadillac in town,” Norm Hagen says, pointing to two men sitting in a motorized buggy.

The gnome points to another photo, and then another.

“That was the first bank,” Noem says. “Then they opened a grocery store.”

Norms and local history have always gone hand in hand.

So it may have been inevitable that he would eventually become one of them.

“Seventy-two years,” Norm says, casually putting numbers on a long and unfathomable streak.

Norm has been cutting hair on Main Street in Glenwood City for 72 years.

In 1952, fresh out of barber school, Norm began working for 75 cents per haircut.

Then, he says, “we raised the price to $1 and everyone was furious.”

Currently, haircuts at Norms Barber Shop cost $10 for adults and $5 for children.

Generations of Glenwood City children can thank Norm for giving them their first haircuts, including Alex Brigham.

“That's me and Norm,” Alex says, pointing to a photo on the wall of a young lad in a barber's cloak.

“Norm gave me my first haircut,” Alex says. He is sitting in the same barber chair.

Bill Johnson was also a “little kid” when Norm cut his hair for the first time.

Few men of Bill's age can say they still go to the same barber.

“I'm 69 years old,” Bill says.

But few towns can afford to hire the 92-year-old barber who first inserted clippers during the Truman administration.

Norm and his late wife Mary had four children, three of whom were boys.

“I retired before my dad,” Chris Hagen says with a laugh.

The Hagen boys grew up in their father's barbershop.

“I have to learn some amazing vocabulary that I didn’t use in school,” says Chris, still laughing.

“Or at home,” adds brother Todd Hagen, followed by laughter.

At Norm's, the need for a haircut has never been a requirement.

When cafes closed down the street, Noam's customers brought their coffee makers to Noam's, creating a place to gather and share what was going on in the city.

Conversation in the barbershop can always be about politics or the Green Bay Packers.

“Many of the world's problems were solved in this room,” says Bill Johnson.

Recently, the story has taken a turn. Especially after the sign appeared in the gnome's window.

“Gnome’s Retirement Party!” the sign proclaims.

After 72 years, Glenwood's only barbershop will close after a party on April 27th.

Some of Noam's regular customers have offered to take home their 1948 Barber chairs.

“Put it in the corner of your bedroom and I'll come out and give you a haircut,” said Norm's brother, Richard Hagen, repeating a request he had heard at the store.

Why did Norm finally decide to retire at the age of 92?

“I’d like to try something different,” he says.

Norm wants to spend more time helping his son on the farm. You'll know what opportunities will come your way.

One thing is for sure: it's not too late to write a new chapter in Noam Hagen's history.

Boyd Huppert is always looking for great stories to share in the Land of 10,000 Stories. Please fill out this form to send us your suggestions.

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