The Alsip Home and Barber Shop
Fifth in the series, the Alsip Home and Barber shop has continued to thrive since 1952. The building stands along U. S. Route 11 next to the Mason-Dixon Line. Upon leaving the Navy, Lawrence N. Alsip enrolled in the Barber School in Hagerstown, MD from where he graduated in 1951. Mr. and Mrs. Alsip purchased the house in 1952 in what was then called Middleburg, MD.The house was built in 1924 by Mr. Myers who never occupied the property. The Clyde McCoy Family lived in the house until 1952. In October of that year Mr. Alsip opened his barber shop in the front room of the house. During the day, he was employed at Fairchild Aircraft and in the evenings he cut hair in the shop. He set up his shop with a barber chair purchased for $25 from Mrs. Chester Wolf of Paramount, MD. At the time a hair cut was .59 cents and a shave was .35 cents. In July of 1958, Mr. Alsip was laid off from Fairchild. At that point he expanded his hours th barber full time. Except for Mondays, his day off, and holidays, the shop was open because someone from town would walk to the shop for a hair cut or visit. The barber shop has always bustled with the conversation of men discussing everything from politics to religon, sports, community events, farming and gardening and world events. Over the years, Mr. Alsip still has some of the same customers, as well as the third generation of some families. Credit: Susan Alsip Lawson, 1998
