Trammell’s carries on legacy of love, learning
Trammell’s Beauty and Barber Supply Inc. is a Black love and Black business story intertwined that deserves to be recognized by The Generator as a Black establishment in Pine Bluff.
“They met in high school, and my father helped my mother to get into the business because he could see that she was gifted in hair care,” said Rosemary Trammell Norman. “He recognized her developing talent for hair care because he had watched his sister perform the craft, and he knew my mother could do it.”
Clincy Trammell Jr. and Thedora Clemmons Trammell started the business in the summer of 1965 on University Avenue in U.S. Brown’s building. The journey of the Trammells started when they were young students in Pine Bluff.
Clincy Trammell Jr., an Air Force veteran of World War II, was a student at Arkansas AM&N College (now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff) studying chemical biology with financial assistance from the G.I. Bill. He met his future wife while she was attending J.C. Corbin School, which was located on the Arkansas AM&N campus.
Trammell’s Beauty and Barber Supply is the original name of the business that only added the incorporated (Inc.) when it relocated to 2700 W. Pullen St. in 1975.
Thedora Trammell became an entrepreneur after realizing that she could work from home and care for her children. She had worked under the mentorship of Ola Brown and Alyene Perry, who were both beauticians in the city. Thedora Trammell graduated from Collingsworth Beauty School in Pine Bluff.
Clincy Trammell Jr., who had family in Indianapolis, brought a new outlook to the business. Thedora Trammell was able to study in clinics established by Madame C.J. Walker during the summer, a connection that was established through Perry and her family. The study in Walker’s clinics helped Thedora Trammell acquire the skills to start doing perms (relaxers) that soon propelled her into becoming one of the top Black beauticians in south Arkansas.
The couple continued to work multiple jobs, maintain a business, mentor young entrepreneurs by hosting clinics, and remain devoted parents to their children.
The oldest daughter, Rosemary Norman, is a licensed beautician who still does hair at the Pullen location. She recalled her parents not being able to buy beauty and barber supplies for the convenience of their customers from the one supplier in
the city. The couple experienced hardships with getting supplies and capital to run the business, which opened the opportunity for Clincy Trammell Jr. to start selling supplies.
Using capital from Clincy Trammell Jr.’s job at the National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR) and Thedora Trammell’s employment in other beauty salons helped the couple continue to grow the Trammell business.
Their daughter remembered her father having to travel to Little Rock and as far as Memphis to get beauty supplies. With two entities under the Trammells’ banner, the couple’s flare for fashion inspired them to add a third leg to the establishment, a women’s boutique. The perseverance to raise a family, earn a living and serve a community is apparent in their business endeavors.
The Trammell children, who now are the primary managers of the business, are all college-educated and trained in cosmetology. Norman handles the salon. The youngest daughter, Lettie Trammell Rayfus, a graduate in chemical biology, still manages the supply store and orders supplies. Clincy Trammell III was always a key component of handling the supply chain for the store over the years.
The Trammell children and grandchildren have learned different aspects of the business through handson or business engagement with the family leaders. The grandchildren, who all have college degrees and professional pedigrees in fields such as medicine, business, social work and cosmetology, are key resources to continuing the family’s legacy.
Trammell’s Beauty and Barber Supply Inc. has served thousands of patrons in Pine Bluff and the surrounding communities.
Sandra E. Gibbs, who has a doctoral degree, has written a biography called “Trammell: More than a ‘Hair’ Life: The Life of Thedora Clemmons Trammell,” which embraces the matriarch of the Trammell brand. The family has also been featured in numerous other publications, such as SEA Life magazine. The family’s recognition for their civic engagements spans from their local hometown to the nation’s capital.
Rosemary talks about the love and dedication her parents have given as Black business owners to serve the Pine Bluff community, as well as how they have been so committed to the students who came through UAPB.
She explains that the hair business is not for the weak at heart. Her parents sacrificed a lot. The couple’s journey as business owners leaves them united after what soon will be 73 years of marriage.
Clincy Jr., 94, and Thedora, 88, still have a hand in the business. Their journey has afforded them to educate all their children, enrich the lives of other children and serve their community with dignity and honor.
Their journey is a remarkable one that started with two young and ambitious people wanting to be teachers in their community, and though never making it to a traditional classroom, having taught a generation how to persevere as business owners.
The Generator @GFPB celebrates Trammell’s Beauty and Barber Supply Inc. as an honorable Black Establishment for the Pine Bluff community.
Editor’s note: This article was produced by The Generator as part of its celebration of Black History Month. The focus of the weekly articles is to recognize the Black establishments of Pine Bluff.The Generator is an innovation hub powered by Go Forward Pine Bluff.