Larry Lewis, Barber

Written by Elizabeth, class of 2004 

Larry  is shown standing 
in front of his shop.

Picture the ideal citizen. Who comes to mind? Most people think of a person who's lived in an area all their life, built a business in the area and made it prominent, raised a family and put them through the school system, made many friends and not many enemies in the community, and added some spark to the town. Thinking about the ideal citizen, Mr. Larry Lewis comes to mind.

As long as I can remember, Mr. Lewis has owned the barbershop on Main Street in Knox. When I interviewed him, I asked how he came to be a barber here in Knox. He told me that when he started his business, there were four other barbers in town already. All of them have now either retired or passed on. Mr. Lewis has been the barber here for thirty-three years and is still going strong, with a range of customers from Knox to as far out of town as Pittsburgh. People say that it’s the hometown and friendly atmosphere of his shop that makes them come back time and time again.

Mr. Lewis is quite involved in the Keystone School District and the surrounding areas, especially Knox itself. He has helped with Knox's annual Horsethief Days, which he thinks is the ideal example of how our town comes together and shows their caring for one another. He comes to many, if not all, of the school's sporting events and is active in his children's activities at Keystone. To show his support and love for Keystone, Mr. Lewis has devoted the largest wall in his shop to pictures of athletes and students with great accomplishments. Most of the pictures are of athletes who got to the state level in a sport or music students who also participated on the state level. This wall keeps growing as Keystone students continue to amaze us all and achieve greatness on many levels.

When asked to describe the town in one word Mr. Lewis said without hesitation, "Caring. Especially in the last 8-10 years. When people are down in the dumps, the community is always there to pull for them."

Mr. Lewis shows no signs of slowing down. The community treats his business very well, and he has on average 20-25 customers per day. Mr. Lewis said that given the chance to move his business to another, larger town he wouldn't do it for anything. "I'll be here till I retire," he said.

Larry Lewis is a huge part of our school district as well as our community. This page is to honor him and his accomplishments in our town. He is a prime example of good, old-fashioned hard work and tradition. His business verifies that. 

When asked about the ideal citizen, Larry Lewis comes to mind, and that's exactly what he is.

The "Wall of Fame" 
in Larry's shop

Larry is shown standing 
by his barber's chair

The front view 
of Larry's Barber Shop