[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 145 (Monday, September 18, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1794]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SPECIAL SALUTE TO EUGENE PARKER: HONORING HIS CHARITABLE SERVICE TO THE 
                                ELDERLY

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                           HON. LOUIS STOKES

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 18, 1995

  Mr. STOKES. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today to salute a 
resident of my congressional district, Eugene Parker, who was recently 
profiled in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The article, which is entitled 
``Paying With Good Looks'', tells of Mr. Parker's unique contribution 
to the elderly people of his neighborhood. I want to share with my 
colleagues the details regarding the offerings outstanding individual.
  Mr. Parker is the proprietor of Parker's Barber Shop in Cleveland, 
where he has been cutting hair for over 30 years. Every Thursday since 
June 1994, Mr. Parker has offered free hair cuts to people over the age 
of 65. This is his way of giving back to his community. As Mr. Parker 
frequently says, he thinks that the money that these persons would 
spend for a haircut would be better spent on a loaf of bread. Through 
this act of charity, Mr. Parker demonstrates to the elderly of his 
neighborhood that someone is looking out for them.
  Mr. Speaker, the reason that I highlight this act of individual 
charity is because this is exactly the type of contribution which has 
the potential to resuscitate drifting communities of our country. 
Eugene Parker has unselfishly given his time and talent in an effort to 
ease the financial burdens of the elderly of his community. I salute 
Mr. Parker for his neighborly contributions and ask my colleagues to 
join me in paying tribute to this caring indiviual. I also ask that 
this Cleveland Plain Dealer article be inserted into the Record.

           [From the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Sept. 11, 1995]

                         Paying With Good Looks

                           (By Ronald Rutti)

       Cleveland.--They stand or sit six deep outside the barber 
     shop at Kinsman Rd. and E. 143rd St. on Thursday mornings. It 
     leads you to think the guys cutting inside either must be 
     good or giving something away free. Turns out, you would be 
     right on both counts.
       Since June 1994, the elderly have been getting free 
     haircuts on Thursdays at Parker's Barber Shop. Proprietor 
     Eugene Parker closes the place to paying customers that day.
       ``I could hardly believe it,'' recalled John Thomas of E. 
     176th St., when he first came to the shop for a free cut. 
     ``He wouldn't even take a tip. He said, `Then it would not be 
     free.' ''
       Harry J. Walker, of Van Aken Blvd., a customer for more 
     than 25 years, was sitting outside waiting for his number to 
     be called. Knowing he would face a wait of about an hours, 
     Walker had brought a radio and some Scripture readings.
       ``He's the best,'' Walker said of Parker. ``I think it's 
     wonderful what he is doing. God said if you give, you are 
     going to receive hundredfold.''
       For a while it was hard to give. ``The first three weeks, 
     all total, I did not cut 20 heads,'' Parker recalled ``Nobody 
     believed it.''
       Now he cuts about 30 heads during his abbreviated Thursday 
     hours 9 a.m. to noon. At least one of the four other barbers 
     in his shop volunteers his off day on alternate Thursdays.
       On this day, it is Andre Beard, 27, who has been cutting 
     hair six years. Beard said he was a Cuyahoga Community 
     College student in electrical engineering when his barber, 
     Parker steered him into the grooming field.
       Parker said Beard comes almost every Thursday to cut the 
     older folks' hair. ``I get the afternoon off, that's enough 
     time for me,'' Beard said.
       The give-away attracts both longtime customers and 
     newcomers. Those who have known Parker for years are not 
     surprised by his charity.
       ``He's always been a people lover,'' said Tom Carter, 78, 
     of Stockbridge Ave. ``He's a caring person.'' Carter has been 
     a customer for 30 years.
       Although he has not had a real vacation in 18 years, Parker 
     said he gets one every week when he unlocks the shop door and 
     already-waiting older folks file in.
       He cannot wait to talk to his visitors, for they already 
     have lived full lives.
       ``This gives me a chance to pick up a lot of knowledge,'' 
     Parker said.
       Parker, a barber more than 30 years, said he got the idea 
     for free haircuts while sitting in his shop contemplating 
     what he could do to give back to the community.
       He decided older people would better use their limited 
     funds for food.
       The normal haircut charge at the shop is $9.
       Parker, 56, gestures to the dozen or so people waiting 
     their turn and says, ``These people sitting here, they did 
     all the legwork and all the suffering to get me where I am 
     today. I think a loaf of bread is more important to them than 
     a haircut.
       ``Hopefully other barbers will hear about this and do the 
     same thing for seniors,'' he said.
       The rule is a customer has to be 65 or older to get a free 
     haircut, but Parker does not ask for proof of age. ``I trust 
     them,'' he said.
       Parker's family moved to Cleveland from Birmingham, Ala., 
     when he was 12. He has nine children of his own, 21 
     grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
       He said he became a barber because ``I was tired of working 
     hard.'' But he has found it is a job not suited to all.
       ``You've got to like people. It's a trip dealing with 
     people. But it's a lot of fun,'' he said.

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