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Thornton Academy
438 Main St.
Saco, Maine, 04072
(207) 282-3361
STORY BY DAN DESROCHERS and JOE COLLARD
PHOTO BY ERIN O'TOOLE
Much of Main Street has evolved over the years to reflect the modern times. However, the red, white and blue "Red" the Barber sign is reminiscent of earlier times. Here, Red Soucy, a veteran barber works his magic. His shop is clean, with a well-worn barber chair as the center of attention. Combs, electric razors, and bottles of hair products line the aged shelves next to his mirror. There are a few pictures on the wall, one of which is a completed puzzle. It shows how a barber shop used to be back in the good old days.
Those who look into the mirror behind his chair will notice a clock. It runs backwards, unless you look into the mirror.
Wherever you look, you will not find a single telephone. When Red opened his first shop, a man from the telephone company said that he'd never own a successful business without a business listing. Red took this as a challenge, and has not had a phone in his shop in 50 years. In all those 50 years of owning his own shop, the atmosphere has stayed virtually the same, despite having moved multiple times.
Red Soucy was born in the year of 1926. He attended a Parochial school on Thornton Avenue. He was born a lefty, but was converted to a righty by the nuns of his school. "Being a lefty, that wasn't right," said Red. Although he was a Saco resident, he never attended Thornton Academy, because he joined the Navy and went to the South Pacific. He spent two years serving in World War II.
Before getting into the barbering business, Red was in construction. He didn't like having the winter off, so his barber suggested trying his hand at the haircutting business.
He started as an apprentice, working for two years for Prue's on Main Street in Biddeford before he decided to open his own barber shop down on Beach Street. He stayed in that location for 16 years. Red says, "I think Beach Street was my favorite. You know, your first shop. It was a gathering place." After leaving Beach Street, he moved to the Saco Valley Shopping Center, where he stayed for 13 years. He then moved down next to Sam's place, across from the Post Office. Three years ago he moved a short distance down Main Street, to the shop he currently owns. Red states that he doesn't know whether he stays open for his love of barbering, or to pay his whopping $91 a week medical insurance!
Red also has a second talent. He is an entertainer. Red started playing guitar at the age of 15. On Saturday mornings, he would hitchhike a ride to Portland to play on the radio. "Nobody stabbed nobody in those days," claims Red. He would play on the radio with an announcer named Carlton DeSouce. He was a Portuguese man who later went on to a successful career in radio.
Being a veteran guitar player, Red plays with a band called the Saco Troubadours. This band consists of a guitar, a banjo, and a harmonica player. They go to nursing homes twice a week, and play to entertain and cheer up the elderly. They have been together for 15 years. Red says he enjoys helping the unfortunate forget their problems and making them laugh. He attended school with the banjo player, and they happened to meet the harmonica player by chance.
No matter how dreary the world is outside, you can always count on Red's shop being bright inside. The walls are a beautiful yellow. The lingering smell of minty after-shave fills his shop. Red makes time go by with everything from small talk to more meaningful conversations about his customers' lives. Not just adults go to see good old Red. On the wall hangs a series of drawings made by his younger clientele. One of them reads "Rockin' Red!"
Hair is almost always lightly scattered on the floor around his great barber shop. This sign shows you just how successful his barber shop still is. Why wouldn't it be? He's probably the only barber around who charges only $6.25 for a haircut.
Red the barber has been a part of this town for many years now. He is as much a part of Saco as city hall. We love him for that. So next time you need a haircut, whip out $6.25, and look for that red, white, and blue sign that says "Red the Barber."
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