After many years in Tucker, Charles Mason still has not found a reason to leave. The business and the community of Tucker have encouraged him to keep Charles Barber & Style Shop in the City. Thanks to their support, Mason has reached the big Five-O milestone.
Before Mason started his 50 years of service in Tucker, Mason grew up in Union County. He was child number 10 of 11 children growing up. Watching his siblings grow up, Mason realized he had to find himself a career to make a good living. Mason decided to go into the barbering industry. He started his career in Atlanta at a bus station where they had a 24 hour barbershop. Mason worked the 12 am to 8 am shift. He then started cutting hair in Tucker at a shop called Taylor’s Barbershop, and eventually started his own shop. Once he started cutting hair in Tucker, he liked it more than cutting hair in Atlanta.
“I like the Tucker community,” Mason said. “I feel really good about my customers here. I could not believe people could be so nice coming from downtown Atlanta.”
In half of a century at Charles Barber & Style, Mason has experienced some special memories. He has seen many of his customers grow. Mason has gone from cutting some of his young customers’ hair to cutting their kids’ hair to eventually cutting their grandkids’ hair. Seeing that is special to him. His own favorite memory at the shop was during the time his first son was born.
“That was big time for me,” Mason said. “I had a young man working in here named Hayne Teasley, and my son was born on a Monday morning. It was about six o clock in the morning and I had been up all night. So, I went home, got me a shower, came to work and Hayne had my barbershop decorated with blue balloons and on my window it said, ‘It’s a Boy.’”
During his time at his shop Mason continued to make family memories. Mason was able to give all three of his children their first haircut there. Mason was even able to work side by side with his daughter, Angie Beck, at Charles Barber & Style Shop.
Mason has seen many things change working at his barbershop for 50 years. Mason said hairstyles and prices have changed. When he started cutting hair, the price of a haircut was $1.75. Some things have not changed like the cash register he has from 1972. The antique still works and has stood the test of time. Mason has tried to replace it, but the newer registers have always broken down, leaving good old faithful. Charles Barber & Style Shop has been good to Tucker, and the community has been good to him.
“It has been good to me, and I have enjoyed serving the community,” Mason said. “I have enjoyed my stay in Tucker.”
