Willow Glen Resident

Cover Story

Photographs by Vicki Thompson

Nice Cut: Almost finished except for the final look, Don Emory checks out his haircut. He has been coming to Walt Tosoni for about a year. Some of Tosoni's customers are the grandchildren of his customers.

Walt's Way

Thousands of customers have sat in this barber's chair for a shave, trim

By Mayra Flores De Marcotte

The 78-year-old barber walks over to his counter to pick up his tools, the same ones he has been using for more than half a century. His uniform, thick black-rimmed glasses, a starched barber shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of scissors are all the symbols of his trade.

Walt Tosoni is part of a dying breed. He is one of a handful of traditional barbers left in the area. This month marks his 54th year cutting hair.

"Nobody will be giving you more time in the chair than Walt does," says customer Dennis Hawkings. He comes from South San Jose to get his hair cut by Tosoni. "It's nice," he says.

Hawkings has been coming to the Willow Glen shop on Westwood Avenue for 25 years. The shop has been there for 30.

He sits in the barber chair and Tosoni hovers around him, snipping at the hair on the side of his head. Tosoni's hands are meticulous, never faltering, never wavering.

Tosoni doesn't take appointments. He works on a first-come, first-served basis, but Hawkings says waiting for his turn is just fine by him.

"It's a community center here," he says. "People will sit here for hours, and the conversations are really something to talk about."

Another longtime customer, Wayne Meyer, agrees.

"It's more than a haircut," Meyer says. "It's more of an experience coming here. It's an education, and everyone talks to everyone else."

Meyer has been coming to get his hair cut for 22 years and says that coming to a traditional barber has many perks.

"They are very knowledgeable people," he says. "Walt always makes it fun to be here. There couldn't be a better guy."

Tosoni first got into the barbering business in 1953, just after he was discharged from the U.S. Air Force.

Back then the 24-year-old Tosoni had just finished a four-year stint that covered the Korean War and had recently married his wife, Mary.

"I was looking for work, and I got a job working with sheet metal," Tosoni says. He was paid 99 cents per day and didn't care much for the work. So he began looking for something else. It was then that an interesting idea was presented to him--cutting people's hair.

"Someone talked me into becoming a barber--another barber, I think," he says.

So in 1953, he enrolled at Moler Barber College in San Francisco.

The students had academic classes on diseases, moles and muscles on the human head and face. Afterward, the students would cut hair. They worked in the back room and charged 25 cents for a haircut and shave, Tosoni says.

"I felt bad for the first guy that I worked on," Tosoni says.

The fledgling barber did a number on the man's hair and was even afraid he would get kicked out of school for his mishap.

"It looked good to me until I backed away from him," Tosoni says.

With practice and time, Tosoni found his talent. He began as an apprentice that same year with Sam Graham, a local barber. He worked under him for 18 months; then he developed the confidence to leave and start his own business.

At the age of 26, Tosoni opened his first barbershop near the corner of Taylor Street and Coleman Avenue. He then relocated to the former Spring and Adburry streets. In 1977 the city of San Jose began expanding the airport, and businesses in the area were forced to move. This is when Tosoni moved his business to Willow Glen.

His talent and service, along with his cheerful demeanor, has garnered him customers from all up and down the Peninsula and beyond.

Customers come in once a month from as far as Danville, Sacramento, Pacifica and even Los Angeles. The longest commute for a haircut clocks in at more than 700 miles.

This customer, a retired dentist, has been frequenting Tosoni's shop for 30 years, 10 while living in the state of Arizona. He comes in once a month, while visiting family, to get his hair cut by Tosoni. Tosoni reiterates that his services are just a side note to his customers.

"I treat them good," Tosoni says. "Forget the haircut; I'm interested in how they feel."

There is a downside to being in the business for so long, he says.

The hardest part of the job is seeing the state of his customers over the years.

"I used to see these young, happy-go-lucky guys come in," he says, "and now they come in their wheelchairs, sad, sick or talking about problems with the family."

His wife, Mary, says her husband offers his customers more than a trim or cut, and it is the reason they continue to frequent his shop.

"There aren't too many barbers around that do what he does," she says. "His customers are all treated like young men. He even calls them over to the chair as 'young man.' Reminiscing with his customers has made friends out of them."

Tosoni works five days a week at his shop and every three weeks, he cuts his son, son-in-law and grandsons' hair.

All the haircuts, including the ones he does for his family, are always done at the shop.

The only time he cuts hair outside of the shop is when he does home or hospital visits for longtime customers who are too sick to come in.

The job perks, however, outweigh the hardships.

"The best part is seeing the customers come back," he says.

Some families, such as the Middletons, have multiple generations coming in. Bill Middleton was the first to come in to the shop but over the years, he has brought his sons and his grandsons, a total of four generations.

"I used to pick those kids up and put them in the chair," Tosoni says. "Now they can pick me up!"

As the years went on, Tosoni's talent never became shaky, yet after heart surgery, he did begin to slow down.

"I don't shave anymore because it's only me in the shop, and I'm slow enough as it is," he says.

The fact that he has slowed a step or two and customers may wait a bit longer doesn't bother his clientele.

"The old-time customers sit and chat while they wait," Tosoni says. "If someone comes in and says they are in a hurry, they tell him, 'You're in the wrong place.' You can't rush me."

Walt's Barbershop is at 1611 Westwood Drive. His hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. For more information, call 408.265.0493.