Minsel Barbershop

E.A. Minsel of Jewell, Ohio donated the barber shop in 1966. It had been owned and operated by Ezra Wilson Warren from Leipsic between 1908 and 1940. Barber shops served as a central gathering place in the community where men could read the paper and catch up on local news as they awaited their turn in the barber chair. Our barber chair was donated by longtime Defiance barber and Village volunteer, Delbert Hammon. The traditional red and white pole outside the barber shop is a reminder the barber did more than just cut hair. He was also a qualified surgeon of the day! Barbers performed a prodedure known as "blood letting". Doctors of the day believed illnesses were caused by "bad blood" which must be removed. The barber would make a small incision in the arm and drain some of the offending blood. The red and white barber pole was a sign for the available service.