Haircuts for “Four Bits” Scheduled at Cass Scenic Railroad, May 10 Get Your Ears Lowered by Lyle “Lefty” Meeks, The Cass Barber for the Past 60 Years

            Lyle “Lefty” Meeks has been cutting hair in the town of Cass for the past 60 years. His barber’s pole still hangs where it always has in a shaded, quiet corner of the 107 year old lumber company town, now preserved as Cass Scenic Railroad State Park.

            On May 10, Lefty Meeks will celebrate his 60 years as the barber in Cass by giving 50 cent hair cuts, the same price he charged when he started barbering in 1948. Meanwhile, his family will offer hamburgers, hot dogs and soft drinks as a warm-up to the reopening of Cass Scenic Railroad State Park for the 2008 season on May 23.             

            Lefty never ran a steam engine or operated a saw in the mill, but he has watched the town of Cass change from a busy, booming company town to a pastoral state park that appeals to our yearnings for a time that echoes with the whistle calling the men to work and of trains bringing news and supplies in from far away places. Lefty Meeks is considered by many to be as much a part of the town of Cass as the trains.

            The popular geared, steam-driven train excursions to the top of Spruce, Bald Knob and Whitaker Mountain will be accomplished, for the first time ever this year, by a fleet of six operational locomotives. Two more historic homes in the town also have been restored and are available for rental, bringing the total to 20. Also, visitors will want to sample the new food offerings at the town restaurant, now under the management of Blue Roof Caterers.

            But on May 10, the town will belong to town barber Lefty Meeks, who has been part of Cass longer than just about anyone else. For more information about Cass Scenic Railroad, company house rentals, dinner trains, train schedules or a 50 cent haircut on May 10, phone (304) 456-4300 or go online, www.cassrailroad.com.

The Legend of Lefty Meeks

            Lyle “Lefty” Meeks was born December 25, 1919 in Stony Bottom, W.Va. He was the eighth of nine children and stayed in Stony Bottom, going to school until the eighth grade. He started high school, but the school was 8 miles away in Clover Lick and it was too far to walk in the winter so he stopped going

            Lefty entered The United States Army in 1942. He served two years traveling to Germany, France and Belgium. When he was discharged, he came back to West Virginia, but found work at a Chemical Plant in Akron, Ohio. He worked there one year before returning to Cass, where he worked as an apprentice barber under Clyde Wymouth. He next went to Durbin for a year before coming back to Cass where he has been cutting hair ever since.

            In 1946 Lefty married Lois Friel, who passed away in 2001. They had one daughter, Leisha Kay, and he has three grandchildren, Mindy, Melissa and Josh Bond.

            When Lefty came to Cass in 1948, Mower Lumber Company was going strong and it was not uncommon for 10 to 12 men to be standing in line at the front of his shop at 8 a.m. waiting to get a hair cut. In those days he would be on his feet cutting hair until 11 o’clock at night. The next nearest barber shop was in the town of Durbin, some 20 miles away, so Lefty was assured of plenty of work in the still booming town of Cass.

            In 1948, Mrs. Ollie R. Ervine and Mrs. Shears began a venture operating the Cass Boarding House in the old hospital that sat adjacent to Dr. Hanna’s office and home. Lefty lived for a time in the Boarding House, and then purchased a home in East Cass, only to see it washed away in the flood of 1985. The state park allowed Lefty and his wife to rent a house on Front Street and they lived there until they purchased a home in Cass. He is still living there today.

            No doubt Lefty’s Barber Shop was a place to discuss the changes and concerns that were always a part of living in a company town. It is much the same today, and Lefty Meeks can be found still cutting hair from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday. Just look for the red and white striped barber’s pole and stop by for a hair cut and conversation with a living part of West Virginia’s American History.