An interview with Brenda Carothers, owner of Brenda’s Country Barber Shop.

89635 U.S. Highway 101,

Warrenton 738-2104

The red, white and blue stripped pole on the east side of U.S. Highway 101 guides those who know to a tiny, one-room, one-chair barber shop. Brenda Carothers cuts hair in the small gray building behind her home with fuchsia trim. On sunny days, the waiting area is a garden with a wooden swing, a tree fort, and goldfish ponds made from a satellite dish and piled flat rocks.

How did you begin cutting hair?

“I started in 1981 and my daughter was only two. I needed something for an income that I could take with me and have anywhere I went.

Why did you move your shop here?

“My daughter is now 23 and my son is 11. I put the shop in at home so that I could be home for him while he goes to school.

“My brother and I built the shop. It’s its own little building, a little 8-by-10.”

What services do you offer?

“People can come here to get their haircut. They can buy fresh eggs. They can commission me to build wooden swings.”

“I can do any kind of cut. If somebody has a picture, I can copy it – if they have the hair for it.

“I don’t keep a lot of product on hand. I’m not a high-sales person. I’m more of a hair cutter.”

There’s not much room here. Where do people wait for their haircut?

“In the summertime and when the weather is nice, people can wander around in the yard, kids can play in the tree fort. People can look at the chickens or the goldfish and koi. I used to have a turkey that would jump the fence and follow people around and strut.

“My goal is to get all of this so it’s nice, easy walking paths.”

Who are your customers?

“When I first started six years ago I had a lot of clients from Brenda’s Coast Cutters in Seaside. A lot of them moved to Palm Springs, a lot of them died. I get a lot of RVers – people who come into the area from all over, but every time they come through, they stop for haircuts.

“A lot of local people come in, if they know I’m here. A lady and her husband that just left have driven by for four years and finally stopped.

“People get so busy that if they’re not right there in town, they’re not looking out here for a haircut.”

What challenges do you face?

“Nobody knows I’m back here. I’ve had some people knock on the front door of the house. The shop’s out back.

“I painted the house this past summer with fuchsia trim so when I guide people in they can’t miss it.

“If I get them in here, I usually get them back. … This last couple of years has been really tough because of a lot of people moving away. I did get into the KAST coupon book, and that helped get a few new people in.

“Measure 28 didn’t help either. I lost quite a few of my older clients. They had to pay more for prescription drugs. That takes away everything from them. Right down to their haircuts.”

What do you enjoy about your work?

“I like being my own boss. I like being able to do whatever I want to do. And I enjoy meeting people.”

What kind of volume do you do?

“My customers tell me I’m Clatsop County’s best-kept secret. The chances of you calling and getting a haircut the same day are pretty good.

“I’d like to do eight to 10 haircuts a day. I have lots of room open and I take walk-ins as well as people who want to make appointments.”

– Benjamin Romano