Twenty-some years ago, brothers Tim and Brian Hooey worked together at The Family Barbershop.
Tim opened the business in 1986, and within a couple years, Brian joined him there for a short time before opening his own barbershop in Plover.
Things have now come full circle.
Tim retired last Oct. 29, and Brian took over the Waupaca barbershop on Jan. 1.
“It’s a family tradition that we’re just keeping going. It makes perfect sense to us,” Brian said.
The business at 210 Jefferson St. is now called Brian’s Family Barber Shop, offering hairstyling for the family and open from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and from 6 a.m. to noon Saturday.
Appointments are appreciated and can be made by calling 715-258-8191.
Tim was a young boy growing up in Waupaca when he first became interested in barbering, thanks to the barber who owned U R Next Barbershop. It was located where Weasels restaurant currently is located.
“When I was a kid, I would go there and clean it up. He gave me $5,” Tim said.
Around that same time, both Tim and Brian sheared Christmas trees.
Brian’s thinking was that if he could shape a tree, he could do the same thing with a head of hair.
He went to barber school on the GI Bill, attending Northeast Wisconsin Technical Institute in Green Bay.
“I was one of his guinea pigs for his final boards,” Brian said.
Soon, Brian decided to also go to school for barbering.
“We both had artistic backgrounds,” he said.
Seeing that his brother enjoyed the work, Brian decided to head to the same school his brother had attended and then joined Tim in his business.
“It was pretty evident at that time that the town had enough cutters in it for the size of Waupaca, so I decided to move on,” Brian said. “So, I went to Plover. It was wide open. It was a community with no barbers. I couldn’t help but become a success.”
Now, Brian’s shop in Plover is for sale.
“Because of Tim’s injuries from (his service in) Vietnam, he has to retire,” Brian said. “Otherwise, he would still be here cutting if he could. So, it was a no-brainer to sell my shop in Plover and take over the shop from Tim, where I had first started.”
Brian plans to stay at the shop until he retires.
Tim’s retirement plans include traveling with his wife.
He is maintaining his license and said, “In a year or two, you never know, I might be back.”