Jerry Ketchpaw loved barbering, sports and people
By Heather Ruenz
SLN staff
“I can’t tell you a lot about the first 53 years or so that Jerry was at this barbershop but I can tell you about the last seven. He took a chance on me,” Megan McCormick, a stylist at Ketchpaw’s in Elkhorn, said.
She said she “may have exaggerated my level of experience when I applied at Ketchpaw’s, which Jerry quickly learned, but he said he would work with me if I put in the effort.”
She did put forth the effort, by observing other barbers in the shop, bringing in her own family members and friends to practice cutting hair on, and asking a lot of questions.
“At one point, about six weeks in, Jerry said, ‘Meg, are you sure you’re cut out for this?’ I told him I wanted to be and asked for more time,” McCormick said.
“A week or so later, he came to check over a cut I had just finished. He looked it over, combed through it and asked, ‘Who did this cut?’ I said, ‘Well, me.’ He said with a huge smile, ‘Well, kid, I think you’ve got it,” she recalled.
The patience and belief Ketchpaw had in McCormick were just the beginning of the life lessons he passed on.
“He taught me how to cut hair but also so much more. His barbershop was a place that men and women could come to as they were. He didn’t care what type of lifestyle you had, rich or poor, lawyer or a garbage man. He wanted to know your name. He wanted to talk about what the client wanted to discuss – sports, farming, the weather, or how their day was going. He genuinely cared about people,” she said.
Ketchpaw died suddenly on April 3 at the age of 79. He would have turned 80 on May 27.
“He was telling everyone it was going to be 60 years in August. He almost made it,” McCormick said.
“It was hard walking in here when he died and we re-opened the next day. People said, ‘Why are you here?’ And we told them this is how Jerry would want it,” she said.
He loved people
Jerry graduated from Milwaukee Barber College in the mid-1950s and then served in the Army Reserves for two years. Pete Kelley, who owned the barbershop at the time, hired Jerry in the late 1950s and in the early 1970s, he bought the shop, according to his wife, Dianne.
“He loved barbering and loved dealing with people,” Dianne said.
Initially, she said, Jerry had three or four barbers on staff but stylists came into the business “when men started wearing their hair longer, so women would cut it.”
She said Jerry took great pride in working at the barbershop long enough to cut the hair of men, followed by their children and eventually, grandchildren.
“He loved knowing the local families and being part of that connection. He had long-term employees and they became like family, too,” Dianne said.
Not long after taking over the shop, Dianne said Jerry remodeled but made sure to keep some of the original things, such as the counter.
Up until 10 years ago, she said, he worked a full five days a week, and as McCormick shared, Dianne said Jerry loved sharing his passion.
“He hired quite a few employees fresh out of barber school. He enjoyed showing them how the shop ran. He also hired women pretty early on because more women were going to barber school. It worked out well because they cut hair for both men and women,” Dianne said.
She said Jerry loved traveling, which they did extensively, and playing tennis.
“He played with a group of local men in doubles and singles. Jerry spent many, many hours playing and they turned into lifelong friendships,” Dianne said.
Jerry was also a devoted fan of the Green Bay Packers and had season tickets, loved classic cars – he had a Thunderbird, which they eventually sold, and biking, she said.
The barbershop, she said, was what one would expect.
“He always knew what was going on in Elkhorn from what he heard at the shop. His customers kept him up on everything,” she said.
His legacy lives on
McCormick and Sandy Medrow run the shop now, though Dianne still owns it. The other two stylists that work there are Cas Aiello and Ketchpaw’s daughter, Colette Coolidge.
“Megan and Sandy have been with Jerry quite a while. I gave them the option and they both wanted to try running things. They’re doing well,” Dianne said.
“Jerry enjoyed the finer things but never forgot where he came from. Even as he worked less, he kept up on everyone and would fill us in so we knew what was going on with our customers,” McCormick said.
She said she was the 38th employee Jerry trained.
“He told me I broke the mold. He worked with me and worked with me and didn’t give up on me,” McCormick said. “I wish I had worked for Jerry longer. I wish I had asked more questions and asked him to tell me more stories of the past. But he will always remain in my heart and memory,” McCormick said.
“He really did things the right way. He had a big smile and a good heart,” Dianne added.
The shop is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday, Tuesday and Thursday; 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Friday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday. It’s closed Wednesdays and Sundays.
For more information about Ketchpaw’s Barber Shop, 7 E. Walworth St., Elkhorn, stop in, follow it on Facebook or call (262) 723-3215.
