WILLITS BARBER SHARES STORIES
Kenny’s Barbershop in Willits can provide customers with a fresh hairdo, and so much more. In between customers, Kenny Keith shared stories of a life well lived.
Keith is an experienced barber who has been in the business 64 years. Originally from Southern California, Keith has owned barber shops in Gardenia, Huntington Beach, Torrance and now Willits.
Before getting into barbering, Keith held a variety of jobs in a variety of states. He had his first job at the age of 12, gardening for neighbors. He also worked in a candy factory, cooking 500 pounds of bubble gum a day. Keith said, “I was popular with all the kids in the neighborhood.” He also was employed at a place that made jams and jellies.
Keith went to live on his grandfather’s farm in Missouri at the age of 14. His brother was in Arkansas at the time so Keith headed down there and they both got into working for the government due to the shortage of labor imposed by WWII. He first worked on a cattle farm in Nebraska, then went to work the wheat fields in North Dakota. He said, “That’s hard work pitching bundles into a wagon because they didn’t have combines in those days, they had thrashers.”
From there, Keith went down to Omaha and got a job at the bowling alley setting bins. Keith told tales of rascally youthful adventures involving getting into fights and run-ins with the police.
Keith joined the United States Army Air Force when he turned 17. He had basic training in Texas, was stationed at Mcchord Air Force Base in Washington and was sent to Germany for the Berlin Airlift in 1948- 49. He said, “I like it over there. Those people are nice people.”
After the Airforce, Keith married Alberta June and they had two children together. Alberta passed away at the young age of 25. After some time, Keith married Margarete, to whom he has been married for 57 years.
He shared an account involving long lost treasure buried in a cave in Missouri. He took a cou
ple of trips out there over his life to dig up the treasure of lore, once with his brother and once with his wife and nephew. On the second trip he was able to excavate a tunnel that was more than twenty feet long, however he never did find the cave or the treasure.
25 years ago, at the suggestion of his nephew, Keith purcha sed some land on Pine Mountain and first built a four- car garage while Margarete drew up plans for a house, which they later built. He has been a Willits resident since then.
Business has been rough since the pandemic hit, however has improved somewhat since reopening when the county allowed him to do so. Keith has even recently added another barber to the business, Rachel Parmenter.
Parmenter spoke warmly of Keith and said, “You get more than just a haircut when you sit in Kenny’s chair. He embodies the essence of an old school, “welcome to Mayberry”, master barber. An hour at the shop with him is a peek into Norman Rockwell’s small- town Americana , you make an instant friend and get lost somewhere between the lull of his buzzing clippers and the stories that sound like a mix between a James Dean and a John Wayne movie with a good dash of added humor. Aside from the captivating storytelling, you learn a lot about life and a little about love. He has a heart of gold and the skill of a craftsman with decades of experience at his fingertips. A true Willits treasure, Kenny is an inspiration and friend to all who’ve ever passed and continue to come through his open barbershop doors and into his old-fashioned barber chair.”
Keith said, “I’ve had a good life, it has been t ou g h some t i me s , it ’ s tough r ight now.” His wife, Margarete has been in the nursing home for si x mont hs; Keit h re - mains hopeful she w ill get better. He said, “I love her so much.”
Like many in the community, Keith is unsure what the future holds, he mentioned the possibility of retiring soon and seeking warmer weather down in Southern California. Keith said, “I will survive, I want to live to be a hundred.”
Kenny’s Barber Shop is located at 1569 South Main Street, and is open Thursday- Saturdays from 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.