Donna Weil, my mom, celebrates her 50th year as a professional hair stylist this year. So, I thought I'd write an off-topic post about it.
Indulge me a moment.
Mom has been cutting hair professionally since 1959. That year she graduated from the American School of Beauty Culture and worked and trained with Kurt Achstatter in the Maller's Building in Chicago. When I was five or six, my mom took me to meet Mr. Kurt. I remember being introduced to him and shaking hands. My mom was very excited about the whole thing—and that's why I recall it so vividly.
For many years, while raising her family, she cut and styled hair in our home in Niles, Illinois, where she developed a dedicated clientele among Chicago's North Shore residents. The family room, where I watched TV as a boy, doubled as the waiting room. The parade of blue-haired old ladies would start around 9am on Saturday morning and continue through the late afternoon.
She is currently a stylist at Vintage Salon & Spa Salon in Sarasota, Florida, where she lives with my dad, a retired businessman.
