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All-TigerNet [12233]
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A different kind of "Army" memory that worries me today....
Apr 16, 2020, 10:03 AM
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This morning as I was sipping on my cup of coffee, I was thinking about a small business owner that I knew during my two tours of duty at Fort Campbell. That small business owner was a barber named "Bo" Ward and I thought I would share Bo's story with you this morning.
When I first met Bo, he was a "PX Barber" at Fort Campbell. Anyone who has served in the military knows that a PX barber is the barber of last resort. The PX barbershop is designed not for quality of cut, but quantity - get the soldier in the chair, buzz him good and get him out the chair as quickly as possible. The only time I've gone to the PX barbershop is when I had to have a cut and didn't have time to go elsewhere. The standing joke is that a PX Barber won't bother asking you how you want your hair to be cut because no matter what you tell them - they are going to give you the standard PX cut anyway. This PX model of quantity over quality just did not work for Bo. He considered being a barber to be a profession and found that working in a hair cutting mill was not the type of service he wanted to provide. So after saving up some money, Bo decided to take a risk and open his own barber shop off post.
Bo's first barber shop was a small two chair shop in an office space in a row building about a mile from post down US41A. Even though Bo had been a PX barber, he had developed a small, but loyal, customer base that followed him to his new barber shop. When you sat down to get a haircut from Bo, you got good friendly conversation if you wanted it (he would not talk "at you" but "to you"), he would listen to what you wanted and always delivered to your satisfaction. Bo was a huge Andy Griffith Show fan and in addition to the Andy Griffith memorabilia on the walls, he ran his shop in an "Andy Griffith Show" family friendly fashion; there was no cursing or vulgar storytelling allowed in his shop. As is typical of great barbers, Bo's customer base grew quite fast as soldiers spread the word in what would become Bo's advertising slogan "Bo knows hair". Word of mouth spread so wide that it caught the ear of the 101st Airborne Division CG and General "Jack" Keane (MG at the time) became one of Bo's customers. Bo started to get so many customers that he hired another barber for that vacant second chair in his shop. If you didn't have time to wait on Bo to cut your hair, rest assured that any barber in Bo's shop would meet his standards and knew how to cut hair with the same friendly down home traits as Bo.
It was at that time that my 65 year old father, who had just started chemo-therapy for lung and liver cancer visited me at Fort Campbell. My dad's hair was starting to fall out from the chemo and he wanted to get a close cropped buzz cut to get ahead of it. I took him to Bo and as Bo ran his comb through my Dad's hair you could see my Dad's solid gray hair just coming out in the teeth of the comb. From behind my Dad in the chair, Bo shot me a look of concern and as I gently smiled backed at him with worried eyes Bo quickly started telling my Dad a humorous fishing story from days long past. Typical Bo, he instantly knew my Dad had something serious going on and handled it perfectly with humor. Several weeks later when I went to get a haircut, Bo asked me how my Dad was doing and I filled him in on the whole dire situation.
Move the clock ahead 7 years to my second tour at Fort Campbell. By this time Bo's customer base had grown to such a degree that he had moved out of the small two chair shop and had opened a barber shop with 6 chairs and 6 barbers. It was in a log cabin building that he rented and was the perfect reflection of his personality and that of his shop. For the next 3 years, outside of deployments, I went to Bo's every three weeks and got my haircuts as did thousands of other soldiers at Fort Campbell, including the Commanding General (MG Petraeus), and the Assistant Division Commanders. Bo's barbershop was what you would truly call an American small business success story.
In the summer of 2004, I finished my second and last tour at Fort Campbell and remember the final haircut and fond farewell I received from Bo. So you can imagine my shock 3 years later in 2007, while I was stationed at Fort Gordon, when I received an email from a buddy of mine telling me that Bo Ward had committed suicide.
At some point after my second tour at Fort Campbell, Bo had to move out of the log cabin he was renting and decided since he was moving he would also expand his business. Unfortunately, this move/expansion ended up putting him in financial difficulties. From an article I have read on the matter it stated: "He had a way out, his home. He asked for permission to rezone his property to commercial. As commercial property the value would increase and Bo would be able to get the financing he needed to see himself through the rough patch." He was quoted as saying if the application "doesn’t go through, I lose my home, I lose my shop, I lose everything I got."
Bo went through the rezoning process and attended the City Council meeting to get their decision. As the City Council announced their decision to decline his application, Bo stood up, said "Ya'll have put me under. ... I'm out of here,". Bo pulled out a pistol, put it in his mouth and pulled the trigger; killing himself in front of his wife, the Clarksville Mayor, and the entire City Council. No one saw this coming but apparently Bo felt he had no way out of his troubles and took his own life. I have often thought that had his former customers known that he was having financial difficulties, enough of us would have "passed the hat" to get him through.
I started thinking about Bo Ward this morning because I wonder how many "Bo's" are out there in the small business world. Folks that have put their life's work into creating a small business only to see it reduced to ruin or bankruptcy during this COVID-19 shut down. How many others will think they have no way out and choose suicide?
Picture of Bo outside his log cabin barbershop:
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Head Coach [752]
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Re: A different kind of "Army" memory that worries me today....
Apr 16, 2020, 10:39 AM
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Good story. Sad.
You didn't know so you couldn't help him. Sad that he left his wife in the same place that he would have been in, except without him, but everyone has their breaking point. Thankfully most don't elect the permanent solution.
There will be many. And these casualties will not be reported nightly. I and my family are fine, but I feel that we cannot continue like this much longer as a country. Those least able to withstand this ecomomic shutdown are the ones being impacted the most. .
I left Ft. Campbell before you got there. Got some memories from that place. And the Cat West.
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All-TigerNet [12233]
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Re: A different kind of "Army" memory that worries me today....
Apr 16, 2020, 11:57 AM
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Oh yeah - The Cat West.... It was up and running during my first tour ('89-'93). Best I recall it burned to the ground while we were deployed to Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. Rumor was that the owner torched the place when the Division deployed - not enough soldiers left to sustain his business so he went for the insurance money.
By my second tour in the 101st (2001-2004), The Cat West was still a burnt out building. Apparently it got another owner and re-opened some time ago but was put on the "off limits" list by the CG.
In all honesty, I never went to "The Cat" but know a lot "Joe's" that did. I did go eat at Charlie's Steak House a couple doors down - usually after getting back from an FTX. They would serve you a steak that took up the whole plate - you would be stuffed for days. Unfortunately Charlie's burned to the ground in 2011 - last of a dying breed of non-chain/family run premium steak houses...
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Head Coach [752]
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Re: A different kind of "Army" memory that worries me today....
Apr 16, 2020, 10:02 PM
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Oh ####, Tabby.. we were there at the same time. I missed out on Gulf War I, I was assigned and inbound to the 326th Eng with a stop at Ranger School first. By the time I got done the #### war was over... and I got there later in '91. I went and found myself a job in the 20th Engineers down the street (near the 502nd) and the stab and jab club. I did that because the 326th was stacked with Lieutenants 4 deep in every job because they had figured an Engineer Lieutenant life expectancy going into Iraq would be like Normandy or the Po or Rhine river crossings so they had too many assigned and and not enough jobs because nobody died like they thought.
The Cat West was very much in business then. And when I first got there the Division was in the process of returning so it was kinda wild on the stirp (Cat West, Mona's Log Cabin, Lucky 7 (?) etc.) 'Murica at its finest for a young Lieutenant who didn't really care how "officer-like" he was when off-duty and was interested in exploring this great country of ours.
Were you standing in the pouring rain and thunder and lightning on the parade field during the Div Change of command during the Week of the Eagles (1992?)? Jesus. Lightning coming down pouring rain, an inch of mud and a pass in review with slung rifles and fixed bayonets held by soldiers walking in slick soled jump boots. I just knew that I was going to be hurt or killed. Supidity and rain in biblical proportions. Lol.
I left FTCKY before you did as the 20th moved to Ft Hood in '92(?) so the Cat must have burned after I left for sunny Texas.
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Orange Blooded [2033]
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Sad story....
Apr 16, 2020, 11:38 AM
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Unfortunately, many many business people make the mistake of expanding their business by overestimating the demand. I have seen it a number of times especially in the service industry like his or restaurants. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't.
Years ago there was a lady that ran a very successful restaurant on the square in Pendleton. The ladies, especially the older crowd, loved it. She was so busy that she moved into Clemson where the Blue Herron is now. She was out of business in less than two years. The business simply did not follow her.
I do agree with you about the PX haircuts. The best ones I every had was the german gals that worked in the PX barbershop when I was stationed in Ansbach. They really knew how to work the enlisted guys. They made great tips. Most of the time you never cared how your hair looked....
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All-In [27367]
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I’m sure every guy has a barber shop tale
Apr 16, 2020, 1:19 PM
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And what better place than tnet to share them. As for me, several years ago I went to my favorite barber for my monthly trim. As I sat down in the chair I told Bobby to cut out all the gray out and leave the rest! A young girl, about 20 I’d guess was there with her young son and she laughed and said “if he does you want have none left”! Everyone but me thought that was funny. Unfortunately, she was right.
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110%er [9903]
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Re: Sad story....
Apr 16, 2020, 8:27 PM
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Definitely sad. Feel for his wife. On a side note, barbers on the Marine bases usually gave top notch haircuts. Everyone had their favorites but you could get a great cut. Okinawa was superb because after the cut came the scalp, neck, and shoulder massage. When I retired in 08, I had to start cutting my own. Most of the old school barbers I had gone to as a kid had passed or retired.
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110%er [6878]
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Re: A different kind of "Army" memory that worries me today....
Apr 16, 2020, 2:57 PM
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What a sad story and that permanent solution to a temporary condition is pure Hades for those who are left behind. I am also concerned about what our economy is going to do to small businesses. We have Got to get things back open. Maybe gradually, maybe all of us old geezers will need to elect extended isolation, but we can't crush our small businesses and the lives depending on them.
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