MOUNT PLEASANT — Longtime Racine-area barber Paul Minneti is preparing to retire after nearly six decades of cutting hair in the community.
For Minneti, being a barber was a vocation that made itself known to him early in his life.
Watch: Longtime Racine area barber reflects on career ahead of retirement
"In about eighth grade, the priest came into class and said, 'Okay, men, we're gonna pray about our vocation,'" Minneti said. "I took it to earnest and literally prayed about it."
He said he got his hair cut within a short time, and his own barber recommended the job.
"And he said, 'Minneti, you gotta do this,'" Minneti said. "And that'd be God, so I went back to school and raised my hand and said, 'Father, I'm gonna be a barber.' Prayers were answered."
He got out of high school in June 1966 and began attending barber school in Chicago in September that same year, having worked the summer at Racine's Young Radiator to save enough money for school and a 1955 Buick.
After school and an apprenticeship in West Racine, he started at Captain's Chair, being offered the job while he was bartending to make some money in 1971.
"Joe, the owner of the Captain's Chair, came in and said, 'Minneti, I've got a job for you,'" Minneti said.
He's been with the business ever since, eventually buying it in 1977 and more recently moving operations from Washington Avenue to Sola Salons in Mount Pleasant.
TMJ4 first learned about Minneti from a client who came to a Let's Talk event in Racine. He is a consistent presence in the life of many of his clients, some of whom have been seeing him for decades.
"Original customers have turned into fathers, grandfathers, so now I'm doing three generations," Minneti said.
Paul says it's these relationships that have kept him coming back to this work every day for more than five decades.
"It's just been a blessing to connect with my customers and live life together," Minneti said.
But he said it was clear to him it was time to retire when he took a vacation in September to Door County. He was able to ride his bike, hike and golf.
"And I'm thinking, 'This is kind of fun,'" Minneti said.
He said he's looking forward to traveling the state and a cruise in January. Plus, he's got grandchildren he wants to spend more time with. His last day will be Nov. 22. In the meantime, he's seeing about 15 customers a day.
"It's hard work," Minneti said.
Even after he's retired, he says he'll continue house calls for his clients who can't travel or are sick, a sign of the commitment Minneti feels to his clients.
"It's been a good run," Minneti said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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