After dedicating six decades of his life to his trade, Frank the barber has packed up his scissors and closed the door to his shop for the last time.
As one of Melton’s first barbers, Frank Palermo has probably cut the hair of most men in town.
Last week his loyal customers, some of whom have been visiting for up to 40 years, lined up to have their hair cut by the 73-year-old barber “one last time”.
Frank started his apprenticeship in his home town of Calabria, Italy, in 1954.
Two years later, he came to Melbourne, working as a barber for 13 years in Coburg before calling Melton South home.
“I always loved to deal with hair,” Frank said as he worked on one of his last customers. “I’ve been doing this all my life.”
But it wasn’t just hair that kept him busy all these years; it was also bikes.
Frank found time to work in his bike store, right beside his Exford Street barber shop, repairing bikes for the neighborhood kids.
“It doesn’t matter how good a barber you are, you always get one or two hours doing nothing,” he said.
“I had to make it work … and I needed something to keep me moving.”
Hair became a family affair for the Palermos, with Frank’s wife Maria and two daughters also taking up the trade and working alongside him for several years.
The father of five says he happily shares his passion and his experience with his daughters, giving them tips and advice “all the time”.
Saying goodbye isn’t going to be easy for Frank, who says he will miss days spent chatting about the Bombers, Collingwood, Italy, travel, his family, his kids and his younger days.
“I didn’t want to give it up,” he said. “I feel very emotional, but what can you do? My health isn’t 100 per cent; my hands shake a little bit.”
Frank’s priority now is an operation on a carpal tunnel-stressed hand.
And after a full recovery he hopes to visit Canada and Italy to see his family and catch up with the barber who taught him his much-loved trade.
Frank Palermo. Photo: Shawn Smits
