Vern Lund stands next to the chair in his barbershop in Woodville, Wisconsin, as he waits for the next customer to take a seat.

Old wood chairs, as weathered and worn as the tough-as-leather hands of many of the men who've occupied those chairs, await new customers. I wonder what stories those chairs could tell if they could talk? Walking into Vern's barbershop is like entering a time machine and being transported back to the days when life seemed simpler and slower-paced.

Those were the days when you didn't call ahead for an appointment, you just showed up when you needed a haircut, sat down, and waited your turn. If you were in a hurry, you came back another day.

No one was waiting on a Saturday afternoon when Lane Backus and I stopped by during Uff Da Days in Woodville to talk with Vern. I sat down in the antique barber chair that sits center stage. It's where Vern's done thousands of haircuts over the 50 years he's owned the shop. He once did 60 haircuts in one day, working until 10:30 at night.

Vern is 77 years old and still works five days a week. He also cuts hair at the Parkview Home in Woodville on his day off, and will go to anyone's house when they can't get out. If someone needs a haircut, he's there for them.

Lane took photos of me sitting in the chair, as Vern pretended to cut my hair. I told Vern I'd show the pictures to my barber in Westby, Al Aspenson. I said I'd let him know we were just pretending to cut my hair because I didn't want Al to think I was cheating on him! Al cut my hair before I left Westby, and now he's cutting it again, 46 years later. Al and Vern come out of the same mold, barbers from the old school, who've seen a lot of changes in their business.

Vern reclined the old chair and said, "How about a shave?" He still uses a straight razor, sharpened on a strop, to do shaves and trim. It's been many years since I've seen a barber trim sideburns and edges with a straight razor. You had to trust your barber when he was wielding that "weapon." It requires considerable skill and was once a staple of every barber's tools. I watched as Vern used it on a customer and he's an expert.

Vern began working as a barber in March, 1950 as an apprentice. When he began, he charged 50 cents for a haircut. Today you can get a haircut in his shop for $7.00. He'll ring it up on his antique cash register. When you call for an appointment, he answers on his old rotary phone. The one thing missing is the red and white barber pole that was once the symbol outside every barbershop. His wife, Kathleen, said the pole is now in their home.

Vern remembers when they also had shower stalls in barbershops. Remember, many people didn't have indoor plumbing. We didn't have any until 1959 when I was in high school. Men could come to the barbershop, get a shower, haircut, and shave, and be all spruced up to hit the town on Saturday night.

During the Korean War, Vern got a break from barbering when Uncle Sam called. Never let it be said that the army makes good use of a person's skills. He didn't become an army barber. After testing, they sent him to language school to become an interpreter. He said he wasn't very good in English in school, but tests showed he had an aptitude for foreign languages. They were right. He graduated in only eight months from the twelve-month course, speaking fluid Romanian. He then spent six months in interrogation school before being shipped to Germany where he interrogated people trying to sneak across the border. After service, he returned to barbering.

But barbers don't just cut hair. A good barber has to be a people person and have great listening and communication skills. They become counselors too, as they listen to stories from their customers and find out many of their problems. I imagine most barbers know things about their customers that few other people know. They've also heard every joke in the book.

Vern said people used to go to barber school for a year, then undergo a four-year apprenticeship. You had to work with another barber for five years before you could own your own shop.

He said most barber schools are gone today. If a person wants to be a barber, there are fewer places to learn the trade. Now they go to cosmetology schools and are called hair stylists.

If you're like me, I just want what little hair I have left, cut and trimmed. I don't need it styled for $20 a pop.

As I looked around Vern's shop, not much has physically changed when it comes to cutting hair. Clippers, scissors, combs, and a barber chair are still the tools of the trade. The biggest change is trying to find barbers like Vern and Al still cutting hair. They're a vanishing breed. It won't be the same when barbers like them hang up their clippers.

"It's been a good life," Vern said. I agree. It's been good having barbers like Vern and Al cutting our hair.