‘Joe The Barber’ Cuts And Runs (To Retirement) After 45 Years Of Trimming

By John Voket

One of Newtown’s longest serving local businessmen has bid the community and four generations of customers he has been trimming and shaving since 1962 a final adieu. Yes, it is true — “Joe the barber”  has left the building.

Marino Pelino, or “Joe the barber” to his thousands of loyal customers, took his last few clips, brushed a couple of errant locks from the shoulders of his last customer Saturday, December 30, and walked out of the business he helped establish in the center of town 45-and-a-half years ago.

Many of his final customers lingered for a few moments before extending a handshake, dispensing good luck wishes, and even a few hugs.

With this reporter sitting in the well-worn barber chair enjoying one of Mr Pelino’s last few haircuts, he talked about his first day on the job here in Newtown. He was brought up from the Bridgeport area by fellow barber John Marino who originally opened The Village Barber Shop in 1957, just a few hundred feet from where it stands today on Queen Street.

The pair worked together until Mr Marino sold the shop to his partner and retired to part-time weekend work.

“For a long time before that, John would always say someday this place would be mine,” Mr Pelino said. After Mr Marino retired for good in 1990, Mr Pelino decided to go it solo until he began thinking about his own retirement in 2006.

A few months later, he struck a deal with barber Shpendi “Frank” Ambari to take over the business and his path to retirement was cleared. He would give his last haircut on the last Saturday of 2007.

While he certainly has earned the right to rest easy in his home town of Stratford, Mr Pelino said he has already planned a spring jaunt to Florida, and an extended vacation to his family home in Italy this summer.

Sitting among a crowd of customers lining the shop’s waiting area, Mr Pelino could be observed first carefully crafting a cut for 7-year-old Sam Wiggin, who traveled from Nantucket, Mass., to visit family in town. Sam and his father Ken sat side-by-side in barber chairs with Mr Pelino circling the young man taking a clip here and there while making small talk about sports.

With a twinkle in his eye and a quick smile, the barber chatted about the Red Sox before wafting the apron aloft like a magician allowing his young customer to slide off the booster seat to make room for Andy Sachs, a local realtor.

Slathering shaving cream around Mr Sach’s neck and ears, Joe continued his chatter while deftly working the straight razor edging along the hairline and behind the ears with the natural precision of a man who could probably give a nice close shave in his sleep.

Once it was my turn, Mr Pelino’s conversation turned to the history of his shop and his travel here to America to find his fortune in Connecticut. He had already been cutting hair for several years in Italy, but upon arriving in the Bridgeport area, finding a job was Mr Pelino’s second highest priority.

“I needed to learn English,” he said quietly, proudly. “I didn’t want to be one of those guys depending on someone else to translate every time you asked how somebody wanted their hair cut.”

Speaking with a moderate Italian accent, but with great command of the English language, Mr Pelino talked about his many customers from judges to cops, politicians to bag boys from the neighboring grocery store. Then conversation turned to the difficult decision to retire from the only place he’s known besides his own home for so many years.

“Newtown is my home away from home,” he said. “I spend more time here than at home, but that is what retirement is for, right?”

As he finished up my cut and moved onto his next customer, Mr Pelino thanked me by name before sending me on my way. Pulling on my jacket, I could already hear Joe and his partner launching into a friendly argument about what country makes the best prosciutto.

Just like any other day in the neighborhood barber shop, right?