In Honor of CECIL WAIVE COVERT BOWEN, I bring you... CECILS CORNER or perhaps more of a soap opera... AS CECILS WORLD TURNED! I got to thinking about how so many movies have been based around the crazy stories or gossip at a Beauty or Barber Shops and realized that I had some doozies to share... Today Im starting a little story-telling about an amazing lady that was born at home in Union Pier and lived there until the last few years of her life, in her early 80s when she moved near her son Bob Bowen in New Buffalo. Moms heart was always in Union Pier and being a cosmetologist was beyond her calling. The first photo below depicts her doing a perm on the beach, (a somewhat unusual setting to say the least,) and the second photo is that of the way I most remember Mom when as a little girl I watched with awe as she got ready to go someplace. To say Mom was meant to be a beautician is an understatement--she should have been born with scissors and a comb in her hand. In fact, her Mom, Gram Della wanted her to be one so much; thus her middle name Waive. (I believe it was meant to be spelled Wave.) Long before having her license Mom did hair--in fact one of her earliest and longest clients was Mrs. Perham from Lakeside. She did her hair in finger waves all over and Mrs. Perham would then wind the long part into a bun at the base of her neck and she gave Mom a quarter! Fast forward 50-60 years--at least a half century and every two weeks, that hairstyle NEVER changed--Mrs. Perham would never allow it and try as I may, I couldnt coax Mom enough to even part her hair slightly different when she went to do it at the funeral parlor! Just for fun I thought it might be nice to have a little something new! Mom was not amused and she was very sure that Mrs. Perham would protest by SITTING UP! Mrs. Perham, no thanks to me, got her same style due to Moms loyalty and devotion! Mom believed when she opened her shop, that to earn client loyalty, she had to do more than a good job--she had to take them WHENEVER, WHEREVER they chose! Yep... Never mind, she had a life! In fact she did NOT take appointments well, as her sense of time was a bit like she was, rather whimsical! This dismayed some but the ones who truly valued her work, would never stray! So NO appointments--thus, VERY chaotic lifestyle! In the summer, which was beyond busy, Mom stood on her feet some mornings at 6 AM often until 7 or 8 at night. Beach days one never knew how many would show as it depended on when they were finished tanning or when the raindrops seemed to threaten. Lawn chairs in front of our shop sometimes were full with those waiting for her magic. And one day there was even a fight--one impatient summer client tried pulling the another out of Moms chair when she felt it was her turn! AWK! It wasnt unusual for Mom not to eat all day, or to have me run next door to Captain Dans fishery and get some fried shrimp she could wolf down to keep from faint! To put it in the best light I possibly can, Mom never was very orthodox at handling money, and normally, it slipped through her hands like shampoo bubbles... But in her hey day she was working so many hours and standing on her feet to the point most people would break. After Mom and Dad divorced when I was about 6 she got the house and Dad got the car. With two children and living in Union Pier, one had to have a car! So, she worked and worked and collected all her $1.75 a shampoo and set $5.00 a perm money and put it in her canvas banking bag. Finally, she counted out the total and it was just enough! She called the Oldsmobile dealer in Michigan City and asked him to bring her that pretty Blue Olds with the White top and shed pay him cash! Im sure by his response that he thought she was a nut case. The man said Lady, it doesnt work like that, take a bus, Im eating lunch. Sooooo, off Mom went on the South Shore bus to Michigan City and paid him $2,000 cash from her bulging canvas bag and drove the Olds off the showroom floor. Unfortunately that Olds was a lemon and we had NOTHING but issues. Of course some of the issues were her lack of knowledge of how to take care of a vehicle; oil changes, tires, maintenance, etc. She only put gas in, often a quarter at a time, and drove--even then, she often forgot the gas and believe it or not is was chronic--one time we ran out of gas on a farm road in Three Oaks on the way to Buchanan and on our return--yep, we ran out yet again -- twice on that one Sunday! One more little story for now... The worst abuse of her clients was the one that begged her to be taken. Mom had just had my brother and it was a rough delivery. She was hemorrhaging and under doctors orders not to leave the bed except for the bathroom for two weeks. The foot of the bed was elevated with bricks and Mom was forced to comply. One of her out of town client was in town and demanding to be taken--her urgent need for a do by CEAL--she couldnt even pronounce her name correctly--was by far, more important than Moms health. Before you know it Mom was doing her hair while the lady sat at her bedside! My Dad came home and found out, and was LESS than happy! Thats todays episode of AS CECILS WORLD TURNED.... Tune in next time!
Posted on: Sun, 02 Nov 2014 14:35:38 +0000
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