E.J. Pashia, 82, has been cutting hair since he was a teenager, and he has no plans to stop any time soon.
“I’ve always wanted to be a barber,” said Pashia of De Soto, who has owned and operated E.J.’s Family Hair Center, 502 N. Main St., in De Soto, for 60 years this month.
Pashia said back in the 1950s, if you wanted to be a barber, you had to go to barber school for six months and then complete an even longer apprenticeship.
He said there was also an 18-month-long waiting list to get into barber school. Determined to pursue his passion, he worked at a factory and called every week until the barber school had an opening.
Pashia said he graduated from Moler Barber College in 1959 at the age of 19. He opened his own business in 1963, and by then he was married with an infant daughter, Kimberly.
He said the going rate for a haircut in 1963 was $1.25, and a shave cost 75 cents. He made $41 on his first day.
Pashia said he actually started cutting hair when he was 16, practicing on his high school buddies and neighbors.
Pashia said about five of those high school buddies still come to see him for their haircuts. One of those longtime friends and customers is Marty Duffner, who was at the barber shop on March 10 for both a haircut and conversation.
“Customers become friends,” Pashia said. “You know how that goes. You cut someone’s hair 30-40 years, they become family.”
Pashia said a lot of good people have worked for him over the past 60 years, and he has always learned from those fellow barbers.
A few, like his grandson, Jacob Pashia (a third-generation barber), have gone on to open their own barbershops.
Pashia said his late son, Mitch, Jacob’s father, also worked with him before his death.
Paula Thomas said she joined the barbershop in 1982 and has been there ever since.
She said she started cutting her own hair and by the time she was in 10th grade, she was cutting hair for friends and family.
Pashia said Thomas has been like a daughter to him and has helped him build up the business.
“We’ve been through a lot together,” he said.
Their customers come from all over Jefferson County and as far away as Pacific, Ste. Genevieve, Pilot Knob and St. Charles.
Over the years, Pashia and Thomas have received awards in state and national barbering.
Pashia said he believes competing and training make barbers better.
He said he was trained in the Roffler technique of cutting hair with a razor in the 1960s and became a trainer.
“There are very few people who know how to do that technique anymore,” he said.
Pashia was named Hairstylist of the Year in 1987 by the International Guest Artists and Hairstylist Association for “inspiration, selfless interest and contribution to the Art of Hairstyling.”
Pashia currently works three days a week, which amounts to between 20 and 25 hours.
He said he has no plans to retire because he still enjoys cutting hair and believes people need to keep moving.
“I might slow down a little bit,” he said. “I won’t ever quit.”
He said it’s been a good life and he has been blessed.
E.J.’s Family Hair Center is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.
