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Home > Archive > Jul 19, 2007

The Barbers of St. George
By Cami Cox
Staff Writer
The torch has been passed – as well as the shears – from one generation to the next at a historic fixture of downtown St. George. For 52 years, St. George native Clarence Webb (better known as Clair) spent his days cutting the curls and lopping the locks of the gentlemen of Utah's Dixie. Now, in his stead, Ivins resident Dave Lefler has stepped up to the swivel chair with scissors in hand at Clair's Barbershop.
“Clair was probably one of the most outstanding guys I ever met. He truly will be missed. He was one of the last, great barbers,” Lefler said. “The traditions that he started here in the shop are traditions I strive to keep.”
Well known around town for both his barber work and his character, Webb made many friends among his longtime customers. A social gathering place as much as a barbershop, Clair's was popular with locals who went there for both the company and the service, son-in-law Matt Putnam said.
“A lot of the customers liked to go there just to hear his stories,” Webb's daughter Rachel Putnam said.
A philanthropist, Webb always gave free haircuts to the missionaries who came to his shop. He was also famous for his opinions, Matt Putnam said, and was known to evict patrons from the barbershop if they disagreed with him regarding an issue or how their hair was being cut!
“He was a bull-headed, hardheaded feller, but he'd do anything for anybody,” Webb's son-in-law Dave Terry said. “He was a great guy. He was fun to be around.”
Webb was no longer able to work in his shop after suffering a heart attack in January, so his barbershop was subsequently closed. It was in April that Lefler, newly graduated from Hairitage Hair Academy, was approached by the Webb family to take over the shop in his stead, and he now leases the barbershop from the family. At age 72, Webb passed away in June due to complications from cancer.
With no pretensions of surpassing the man who went before him and even gave him barbering pointers while he was attending school, new barber Lefler said he intends to carry on business in the same fashion that Webb did, right down to the name of the shop, which will continue to be Clair's.
“Every person in this chair gets their time, just like Clair gave them,” Lefler said. “We're not trying to get rich; we're just trying to have a good time.”
Many loyal customers who brought their business to Webb when he ran the shop are now putting their hair in the hands of Lefler, swapping stories and sharing a laugh or two as he gives them a trim or a cut. Among these lifelong customers is St. George resident Garry Pearce.
“Clair cut my hair all my life,” Pearce said.
Pearce, along with many other regulars, now comes in for service from Lefler, and his money is deposited into the same antique cash register that Webb used for many years.
“Men are creatures of habit,” Lefler said. “They'll come to the same barber for 30 years if they get it done the way they want.”
And at Clair's, barbering traditions ages-old continue to be carried on.
“Every cut comes with the hot lather, a straight razor shave around the neck and a splash of aftershave to leave them smelling great and feeling fresh,” Lefler said. “These old guys, they like it that way.”
“My goal is to bring back the art of barbering,” he went on to say. “I want these guys to feel like they can come here and get a good barber-cut by someone who knows their name.”
A man who comes by barbering honestly, Lefler grew up around haircutting. He has an uncle and an aunt who are both barbers, a grandmother who ran a beauty parlor out of her home in Las Vegas, and a great-grandmother who operated the only beauty shop in Heber, Utah, for many years.
He got his own start as a barber in the eighth grade, when he took his grandmother's hair clippers and began giving free haircuts to friends and neighbors in Las Vegas.
“I gave some really bad haircuts in the start!” Lefler said.
He honed his skills as the resident barber on his LDS mission in Anaheim, Calif., cutting many heads of hair for his fellow elders.
“A lot of hair there to be cut,” Lefler said. “After that, I knew I liked cutting hair, but I had to find a way to do it.”
At the encouragement of family members, particularly his aunt who is a barber, Lefler elected to pursue barbering professionally.
“I decided this was the peaceful, civil lifestyle I wanted to live, and it has worked out really well so far,” he said. “You'll see barbers in their shops working till they're 80, because it's a good quality of life. You make enough money – you don't get rich, but you make enough to pay your bills; and it's nice, you get to see your friends.”
Though Webb is greatly missed, his children and family members are glad to see the barbershop remain open and in capable hands, Terry said.
“I think it's great that the barbershop is going to be open,” he said. “Dave is a great guy.”
And Lefler intends to make his predecessor proud, continuing to do business the way Webb did.
“I'm a barber; this is a man's joint. We do men’s hair here and nobody else,” Lefler said. “You get an old-fashioned-style cut that these guys are used to.”

Clair's Barbershop is located at 195 W. 700 S. in St. George. Lefler operates primarily on a walk-in basis, taking appointments for Mondays and after-hours only. To contact Lefler, call 632-8213.

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