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Rex's Barber Shop by Christopher Crawford

Rex is probably the most famous person in Roanoke, Indiana. Roanoke is a small town about halfway between Fort Wayne and Huntington along US 24 in northeast Indiana. Rex became a barber in Fort Wayne in 1959 and opened his own shop in Roanoke in 1963. My grandpa has gotten his hair cut by Rex for decades and I did too when I was still getting my hair cut...I have extremely long hair now! Getting an appointment with Rex can be hard, he's usually booked up a few weeks and people arrive as early as 6am to beat the crowds on days when he takes walk-ins.

Rex's shop is like a step back to the nineteenth century with his old chairs, checkerboard, and gold lettered window. The shop doesn't even have a phone. Customers come in person to make appointments or they call Rex at home in the evenings.

12 Photographs

 

The paneled wall of Rex Ottinger's small town barbershop in Roanoke, Indiana. Hooks hang on the wall for coats, and one customer's coat hangs there under the sign that says "Your courtesy in waiting is appreciated. You too will receive the same careful attention."

 

Checkerboard and antique wooden chair in a small town barber shop in Roanoke, Indiana. A customer can be seen in the background getting a haircut from Rex Ottinger.

 

Small town barber Rex Ottinger cuts an elderly gentleman's hair in his barbershop in Roanoke, Indiana. The customer sits in one of the old Koken barber's chairs with enameled armrests and chromed brass fixtures.

 

The waiting area in Rex Ottinger's small town barbershop in Roanoke, Indiana. A long row of old wooden chairs sit along the wall. Historic drawings of the town of Roanoke hang above the chairs on the paneled walls.

The counter behind the barber chairs in Rex Ottinger's barbershop in the small town of Roanoke, Indiana. The back of a customer's head can be seen reflected in one of the mirrors while the counter is covered with clippers and bottles of styling formulas. A large clock hangs on the paneled wall between the mirrors.

 

The area behind the barber's chair where customers pay for their haircuts in a small town barbershop in Roanoke, Indiana. Rex Ottinger can be seen reflected in the mirror. The shelves display his diplomas and boxes of lion's club mints for sale

 

A customer pays small town barber Rex Ottinger for his haircut at Rex's Barbershop in Roanoke, Indiana.

 

Barber Rex Ottinger in the waiting area of his barbershop in the small town of Roanoke, Indiana

 

 

 

Christopher Crawford
Fort Wayne, IN

chris@chriscrawfordphoto.com

 

chriscrawfordphoto.com
and its contents are ©2008
by Christopher Crawford

 

Antique barber chairs from the 1920's are still used in Rex Ottinger's barber shop in Roanoke, Indiana. Koken barber's chair with brass and enameled fixtures and leather seat.

 

The waiting area in a small town barbershop in Roanoke, Indiana owned by Rex Ottinger. Two old wooden chairs sit beside a table with a checkerboard. A customer's coat hangs from a chair and a framed newspaper article about the barber hangs on the wall above the checkers table. A good luck horse shoe hangs above the door in the background.

 

The back window of Rex Ottinger's small town barbershop in Ronaoke Indiana is decorated with a stained glass suncatcher that looks like a barber's pole.

 

Small town barber Rex Ottinger stands behind one of his historic old Koken barber's chairs in his barbershop in Roanoke, Indiana.