100 YEARS OLD
CENTENNIAL 1855-1955

A great many have served as barber in the town of Steamboat Rock. I was able to uncover the names of a few. Some stayed a long time and others longer. I even recall for a short time in my childhood the barber shop had two chairs. 

The very first barber that I can remember was Ott Filbrandt. He moved to Alden and I don’t recall who followed, but there were a few for a short time. 

I remember Claude Heard coming to Steamboat Rock. He remained as barber here for several years while his children grew up here. He then moved to Rockford, Iowa. In 1963 George Hemmen purchased the barber shop from Claude Heard. 

George would be the last full time barber to serve in the only shop I knew on the northwest side of Market street. 

George attended a country school for most of his elementary years until he was a freshman in high school. When he was a junior in high school, the school district where he attended was reorganized which meant that he would not be able to graduate from high school. However, Tom and Hattie Eilers who owned the local general store gave him room and board plus a salary for working in their general store. This is when the stores were still open on Saturday night, and the eggs were still candled in the store. He made grocery deliveries and ran small errands for customers, such as measuring for curtains for Roberta Caldwell. 

After graduating from high school, in 1955, George worked a summer for Folkerts and Eckel Construction, and in the winter for the Ackley Canning Factory. 

In 1956 he married Kathleen (Kitty) Gast. She was a medical assistant for Robert Bremner, M.D. and they lived in an apartment above the local bank. When Dr. Bremner moved to Cedar Falls, Iowa in 1957, they also moved. They lived above Simpson Furniture Store on main street. George worked for the furniture store, first in delivering furniture and later in installing carpet. Kitty continued to work for Dr. Bremner. 

George served 6 months in the National Guard at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, in 1959-1960, and upon his return enrolled in the Waterloo Barber College. At that time it was 6 months of schooling with a one-and-a-half year apprenticeship. 

During his lunch hour he worked at Bishop’s Cafeteria which paid for his meals. His apprenticeship was served at Williams Barber Shop on Main Street, Cedar Falls. 

In July of 1963 George and Kitty moved back to Steamboat Rock after George purchased the barber shop and home of Claude Heard. The shop was open each week day, Wednesday and Saturday nights (till they stopped coming in) and closed on Mondays. Haircuts were 75 cents for adults and 50 cents for children. 

In the early 70’s, in addition to the barber shop, George barbered for the Iowa Training School for Boys, in Eldora, on Mondays. He also worked an evening in Holland, Iowa and drove a school bus for the Steamboat Rock Community School. 

In 1976 he closed the barber shop to work for the local bank which was called First National Bank. In 1984 he moved to the Hardin County Savings Bank in Eldora, Iowa working for Brown-Hurst Insurance. He later became Vice President of the bank. All the while they have continued to live in Steamboat Rock.