AC Phoenix, March, 1992, Page 17
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Maintaining Service Tradition Is Imperial's Imperative
By Patricia Smith-Deering
Phoenix Managing Editor
When a man starts his own
business, one of the things he
hopes to do is pass the torch on to
his children. “He doesn't know it
yet, but that’s what he’s going to
be, just like my father did me.” That
is the proud prediction of Guary
Connelly, Jr., in discussing his
plans for Guary III, the third
generation to carry on the tradition
started by the man who opened his
own barber shop in 1958.
Guary, Jr. remembers well the
time when his father began the
operation of what was then 11th
Street Barber Shop, down in the
area of East Winston known as
“11th Street Bottom.” From 5th
grade through high school, he
worked side-by-side after school
with his father, shining shoes for
the barber shop’s patrons and
soaking in the exciting atmosphere
that pervaded his father’s business.
“I loved shining shoes,” Guary
says. “I liked to make a person's
shoes shine so pretty, I could see
my face in them. It gave me a real
sense of accomplishment.” He also
enjoyed the financial reward from
some of the shop’s big tippers,
whom he describes as meii
sometimes on the other side of the
law, who “wore big old hats” and
left him $2 tips for a shoe shine that
cost between 25 and 50 cents in
those days.
A professional barber since 1976,
Guary Jr. was destined to follow in
his father’s footsteps. His father
said so and saw to it. “First, I
intended to go into the service, the
Marines,” he said. But, he went,
instead, for two months during the
summer following his 11th grade in
high school, to barber school. “It
was Harris Barber College in High
Point, 803 S. Blount Street, right
across from Shaw University,” he
recalls with such accurate and
laughing recollection, you could
almost hear his father’s mandate to
him. He graduated “April 3, 1976”
and has been in the business ever
since.
By the time Guary ^aduated, the
business had been in its second
location, 1417 N. Liberty Street,
since 1969 and had been renamed
Imperial Barber and Beauty Shop.
During an interview with the
Phoenix in February, 1991 - eight
months before his death on October
18, Guary, Sr. explained his
rationale for the shop’s new name.
Flow
Chevrolet,
Inc.
Slow Credit
or
No Credit
WILLIE
GUESS
Call and
Ask for
Willie _
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"We’ve got to keep
the shop going. I
can't let it die
now."
Guary Connelly, Jr.
Guary Connelly, Jr. is carrying on the family tradition and Is already grooming
his children.
“Imperial means the best, supreme,
and royalty, and they all represent
Black people.”
Upholding the tradition of being
the best is Guaiy, Jr.’s goal, and he
is joined by his brother, Michael,
and sister, Karen, both licensed
cosmetologists - and another sister,
Belinda, who manages the
inventory for the business. Imperial
has six barbers and five cos
metologists, all licensed, and Guary
plans to add three more barbers.
There are also two receptionists and
two cashiers, according to Guary.
He notes among the high-tech
upgrades to the business “a new
phone system in the shop with an
intercom as part of our new
Continued on Page 18
OASIS OF CHANGE
HOUSING REHABS
and
NEIGHBORHOOD STIMULI
sponsored by
AC CULTURAL & EDUCATIONAL COMMISSION, INC.
ATRAMENTO CASA, INC.
PATH, INC.
A SELF-HELP
HOUSING PROGRAM
RECLAIMING DECLINING
HOUSING
COMMUNITY RESIDENTS
WORKING TOGETHER
INVESTING TIME & MONEY
INNOVATIVE & OLD
FASHIONED COMMUNITY
YARD CLEAN-UP