Bertie McMahon has been cutting hair in Boorowa for 70 years, and late last month he added another chapter to a family history that now stretches across six generations. Guy Evans, his son George and George's daughter Penny were at Bertie's barber shop, with baby Penny getting her very first haircut. It's a rite of passage the family has repeated for decades, with Guy's father Rodney, grandfather Mervyn and great-grandfather Cecil all customers of Bertie's before him. That makes six generations in all: Cecil, Mervyn, Rodney, Guy, George and Penny. Bertie started his apprenticeship at just 14 years of age in 1956, at his grandfather's barber shop in Young, before spending some time working in Wagga Wagga. It was after the death of the town's then-barber, Kevin Ryan, that Bertie moved back to Boorowa and took over Kevin's shop on Marsden Street. Rod, Guy's father, recalled the days when flat tops and dovetails were in fashion, and going to his friend Bertie's shop, then situated downstairs at Wentworth House, for his first flat top. Rod and Gary Stammers are believed to have been the first in Boorowa to sport the new style. Bertie later moved into his current premises on Pudman Street, at the suggestion of the local council, to help encourage people to shop locally, and has now been there for more than 46 years. Guy said the milestone of six generations was worth marking, and a way to celebrate Bertie's contribution to the town over so many years. "Many Boorowa locals walk into Bertie's shop just for a yarn and don't even get a haircut," Guy said. "Bertie welcomes, listens, laughs and chats with everyone who walks through his door, there's a real feeling of nostalgia in there." Bertie asks only for a donation for the experience. For Penny, the occasion came with a small hiccup, the first-time customer was not entirely convinced by her new hairstyle. Bertie, for his part, admitted a girl's haircut was a rare event in his chair. Three generations of the Evans family posed for a photo with Bertie after the cut. After 70 years behind the chair, the Boorowa community says: thank you, Bertie, and we look forward to seeing you this Saturday.
