A cut above: Cheryl Hale celebrates nearly half a century of hometown barbershop
Story by Jacob Hatcher
Photos by Rachel Howard
Four days after graduating from what was then Morgan County High School, Hartselle native Cheryl Hale rode a bus to Calhoun Community College to start barber school. At 16-years-old she had started to work as a shampoo girl for Myra Moore Roundtree, who owned and operated Gentleman’s Choice in Tanner Heights Shopping Center. Roundtree was the first licensed female barber in Hartselle and Hale credits watching the barbers at Gentleman’s Choice with inspiring her to follow in their footsteps.
“When I was in high school I wasn’t too good at doing homework, so I wanted to go to school for something that I wouldn’t have to do too much book work. I figured I could cut hair and wouldn’t have to do any of that,” Hale says.
At Gentleman’s Choice Hale worked alongside Roundtree, as well as June Rutherford and Wendell Emerson. “I worked for all three barbers in the afternoon and on weekends and loved my job,” Hale says. “I knew by watching them cut hair each day that I wanted to go to barber college and become a barber too.”
Her time at Gentleman’s Choice began in 1969, but by 1973 she had moved further north into the heart of Hartselle when she started working for Ralph Maner at Maner’s Barber Shop. In 1980 Maner sold the business to Hale, and it has been Cheryl’s Barber Shop ever since.
As owner and operator, Hale hired a number of female barbers, many of which went on to get their barber license and their own shops in and around Hartselle. Hale is proud of the role she has played in female barbers in Hartselle.
“Hartselle has many ladies that have benefited from the career and have made a great living serving the people of Hartselle,” she added.
After fifty years of cutting hair, Hale has seen trends come and go. From the resurgence of the mullet to the return of flattop, she says there’s nothing new under the sun. She’s bonded with her customers and says they really become like your family. “Those little boys that used to sit on the board in my chair are bringing their own sons to sit on the board. It really has come full circle.”
Looking back over her time as a barber, Hale says she is pleased she chose this career for herself. “If I had it to do over again, I would do it the same. I’ve gained so many friends through this. Of course, after all these years on concrete I can’t stand forever anymore, but I have no regrets. I have always loved it up here,” she says.
One exceptional season of her career was when things opened back up after the Covid pandemic. The barber shop had to be closed for seven weeks. The social distancing proved to be an obstacle, but Hale says they were able to adapt and improvise in order to serve their customers.
“For the first two weeks after we opened we couldn’t even sit down and take a break. Folks hadn’t had a haircut in two months and they were desperate,” she added. “That was a real landmark in our business.”
Hale says at this stage in her life she is just taking the future one day at a time. “All my classmates are retired and want me to come eat lunch with them, but I just can’t. We have fun up here and enjoy our people. It’s kind of a hang out. There’s always a good joke being told and a good time being had.
“I may get physically tired, but I am always ready to return to work. This job gives a sense of accomplishment,” Hale says. “As the saying goes, you can make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear with some folks. That’s the best part; when you see the smile on their face after you’ve given them a haircut. That is one of the best things about this job, when you see how you’ve helped people.”
