Evansville, Ind., mayor ready to be (no) Haircut Hero
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – It’s seven days in and the wavy locks are all still firmly in place. All is still OK in the world. But give it another two weeks and it will have been 49 days since the Mayor With the Good Hair has seen the skilled scissors of a professional. Things may not look quite so good then. And the wait to meet those scissors could be even longer.
Evansville, Indiana, Mayor Lloyd Winnecke is willing to sacrifice his perfectly coiffed ’do for the sake of public health, and he insists you do the same — not just for your own health, but for the whole city.
He’s the hair hero Evansville needs right now. He’s a woolly guardian. A hirsute knight. An unkempt crusader.
“I want to prove that every person can have a role in protecting the public health,” Winnecke said. “I’m not going to seek anyone to get my haircut during this time, which may sound a little silly, but I think it makes a statement.”
Falling in line with the emergency order issued by Gov. Eric Holcomb, the city of Evansville shut down all non-essential operations, including hair salons and barbershops.
Winnecke has been going to the same woman for his haircuts for more than 25 years. He had an appointment scheduled, but the business of the city superseded that appointment, and he didn’t get a chance to reschedule before the order was issued.
Things have been a little hectic around the mayor’s office. His last cut was Feb. 18.
“In this role, sometimes things happen so quickly, a haircut or doctor’s appointment has to be sacrificed because something comes up unexpectedly,” Winnecke said. “So last week, I missed my haircut, and all of a sudden hair salons and barbershops are closed, and understandably so.”
Instead of calling in a mayoral favor or ignoring the order, Winnecke has vowed to let his hair grow until the ban is lifted. Right now that date is April 7, but he suspects it will be longer.
“By putting off getting your hair done or cut, you can definitely be making a bold statement about protecting public health,” he said.
How bold a statement Winnecke’s hair will make is yet to be seen. He said he’s never purposely grown out his hair — well outside of college anyway.
Winnecke said his wife, Carol McClintock, has jokingly (he hopes) threatened to cut his hair in the past when it got a bit too long.
“So I want to make sure I’m not the first to fall asleep at night,” he joked. “And make sure we don’t have any sharp objects in our bedroom.”