A woman’s touch in a man’s world

Ware Shoals woman making a living as a barber

April 24, 2006

By MEGAN VARNER
Index-Journal senior staff writer

At first glance, the workstation where Celia Timmerman trims and shapes her clients’ hair looks like a typical hairstylist’s desk, complete with clippers, scissors, combs, hair spray and magazines.
What is unusual about Timmerman’s station is that it isn’t in a salon or hair studio — it’s in a barber shop.
Timmerman, who has been cutting hair at the Bypass Barber Shop in Greenwood for about four years, says she doesn’t feel out of place being a barber, a profession that has typically been a man’s job. Timmerman, a Ware Shoals resident, said she actually planned to do women’s hair, but when a local barber offered an apprenticeship, she took it.
“The man offered to train me to do barber work and that’s what I’ve done since,” she said. “I like it. I feel like I do fine, and I’ve not heard anybody who has a problem with (a woman barber).”
In fact, Timmerman said, the profession is seeing more and more women nowadays.
“There are a good many (women) out there starting to do it,” she said, adding that people sometimes have a misconception about the word “barber.”
“A lot of people think that a barber means a man who cuts hair, but that’s not what it actually means. It’s just a different way of cutting hair,” she said. “You are more worried about getting the hair off the man’s ears and keeping it off for a few weeks ... You really have to learn how to use the clippers and the comb. That’s the big difference between women’s hair and men’s hair.”
Though the gossip around the barber shop — such as sports, hunting and politics — is a little different than that heard floating through the air of a beauty salon, Timmerman said she enjoys listening in on the stories.
“I like being in the middle of a lot of conversations. You get a lot of different opinions from different people and that’s fun,” she said. “Most men don’t get very deep in conversation. They keep it light and it’s usually about sports. If it does get deep, it’s usually political – it’s not personal.”
And barber Lee Williams said Timmerman can hold her own in a room full of men.
“We tease her like we do each other. She doesn’t pick on us like we pick on her, but she gets in a good zinger every now and then,” he said, smiling. “She does a great job and she’s a very good barber.”
She said the conversations invigorate her and motivate her to get through a long, 10-hour day on her feet.
“For me, the energy of being around other people is what gets me going every day,” she said. “I can come in here in a bad mood and someone can come in and tell jokes (and it changes my mood). I think talking with people stimulates me intellectually.”
The average male haircut takes about 15 minutes, Timmerman said, and in those few minutes she can hear about everything from a 4-year-old’s birthday party to the battles of World War II.
“The older men, especially, will come in with stories and I enjoy that,” she said.
In her 10 years of cutting hair, Timmerman said she has learned that men tend to be more honest when the time comes to spin the chair around and face the mirror after their cuts — and many become loyal clientele.
“I’ve learned that men are more about actions than words. A man might give you a tip and come back if they like the cut. A woman might say it’s pretty, but she might go to somebody else next time,” she said. “Men are pretty upfront and easy to deal with.”
As he sat draped in a cloth while Timmerman’s clippers buzzed around his head, Greenwood resident Jon Gunther said he always goes to Timmerman when it comes time for a haircut. Gunther said he’s had women cut his hair his whole life, so he doesn’t get nervous letting Timmerman, who is also a family friend, approach him with scissors and clippers in hand. “I know she is going to do what I ask her to do, and if she can’t she’ll tell me before she makes me look stupid,” he said, laughing.
Though she doesn’t get stressed, Timmerman said she has been known to use a little help from above to get through a difficult cut.
“Sometimes I pray. If I’m having a hard time with it, I’ll say, ‘Lord, please help me’ and it’s worked,” she said, laughing. “I don’t really feel stressed about cutting hair. It’s more just tiring by the end of the day.”
But Timmerman said the teamwork between the barbers at the shop makes the job possible and more successful for everyone.
“When you have more than one barber, you have a better business. A lot of men don’t want to wait and they don’t want to make an appointment, so we really depend on each other to keep it going,” she said. “It’s a team effort.”
And it is an effort Timmerman said she hopes she is a part of for years to come, adding that she plans to finish out her career doing hair in a man’s world.
“Unless I win the lottery,” she added, smiling, “and then I’ll stay home.”
Megan Varner covers general assignments in Greenwood and the Lakelands. She can be reached at 223-1811, ext. 3308, or: mvarner@indexjournal.com

Farmers Market blooms big success

Plant sale draws large crowds to buy plants, get advice from sellers

April 24, 2006

By JOANIE BAKER
Index-Journal staff writer

As record numbers of people funneled through the Greenwood Farmers Market during the annual plant sale over the weekend, Kay Holmes said many people smiled and reminisced when they saw the hanging nasturtiums.
“Everybody comes up and says “I remember my grandmother having those hanging at her house,” she said of the “cheerful” plant that can also be eaten. “If you ever get tired of watering them, you can always just eat them in a salad.”
Newton O’Dell, Farmers Market manager, said the turnout for the event was tremendous, as there were more people to come through Friday than did the entire weekend last year, he said. O’Dell said that some of the plant sellers actually ran out of certain plants on Friday and had to take orders for people who were there waiting when they arrived Saturday morning.
“We were just overwhelmed with the response,” O’Dell said.
Some customers sought more than just flowers.
Grace Contreras and daughter Gabriella, who moved to Greenwood from Arizona last year, came to the market Sunday seeking advice from some of the sellers that had been recommended by their neighbor. Grace said she started a garden last year that died, and she said she has learned from Holmes and partner Steve Culler how to make her garden succeed.
“You have to learn what type of soil to use and you have to learn when to do it at the right time,” Grace said.

Annie Williams Jefferson

ABBEVILLE — Annie Williams Jefferson, 89, formerly of 1784 Old Hodges Road, died Sunday, April 23, 2006 at McCormick Health Care.
Born in Greenwood, she was a daughter of the late Frank and Nancy Cooper Williams. She was a homemaker. A former member of St. John AME Church, she was a member of Salem Baptist Church and the Missionary Society. She was twice married, first to the late John Boozer and second to the late Erskine Jefferson.
She was the last survivor of her immediate family. Survivors include a niece reared in the home, Shirley Crawford of Abbeville; and two grandsons reared in the home, Greg Crawford and Niko Crawford.
The family is at the home of Shirley Crawford, 1874 Old Hodges Road.
Services will be announced by Robinson & Son Mortuary Inc., Greenwood.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at robson@nctv.com

Betty L. Moore

IVA — Betty L. Moore, 78, of Iva, wife of Robley L. Moore, died Saturday, April 22, 2006 at the Hospice House in Greenwood. She was born in Forsyth County, NC to the late John A. and Hannah O. Carter Minor. Mrs. Moore was a former employee of Sears & Roebuck and Western Electric. She was the last surviving member of her immediate family.
Mrs. Moore is survived by her husband of 58 years of the home, two sons, Robley T. Moore and Mack L. Moore and his wife Bonnie all of Antreville, a daughter, Joyce L. Ehlke and her husband Tom of Santa Rosa Beach, FL., two grandsons, Jason Svitenko and Mathew Svitenko and his wife Mandy and one great-grandson, Mason Svitenko.
All Funeral services will be private.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the HospiceCare of the Piedmont 408 W. Alexander Ave. Greenwood, SC 29646.
Online condolences may be sent to the Moore family by visiting www.harrisfuneral.com
HARRIS FUNERAL HOME, of Abbeville is assisting the Moore family.
PAID OBITUARY

New look at triathlon

Olson, Leonard notch first career victories in YMCA race

April 24, 2006

By RON COX
Index-Journal sports writer

The Sunday morning at the Greenwood YMCA was filled with athletes venturing into new territories.
Chris Olson, of Spartanburg, and Natalie Leonard, of Dahlonega, Ga., each claimed their first sprint triathlon titles as the male and female overall winner at the YMCA’s seventh annual Sprint Triathlon.
The 32-year-old Olson, competing in his first triathlon in more than 16 years, completed the 300-yard swim in the YMCA pool, 20K bike ride and 5K run in 52 minutes, 58 seconds, leading a pack of five triathletes to finish in under an hour.
“This is a great venue. It’s a really nice course,” said Olson, who returned to endurance racing after competing in the Atlanta Marathon in November. “It’s a real class act. I felt pretty good about my race. I came here to win this event.”
Awards were handed out to the top overall male and female winners and to the top two finishers in 11 different age groups.
Leonard, an experienced sprint triathlete, earned her first triathlon victory with a time of 1:05:40, which was 37 seconds ahead of Greenwood native Erin Howell.
“It was really tough, but it was awesome though,” Leonard said. “That’s the fastest I’ve ever done any of the sprints before. I thought I’d be in the top three or five because every year I’ve done this I’ve been in the top 10 or top five. So, I really didn’t want to get too excited about what I did until heard the results.”
After posting a solid time in the swim (4:26), Leonard had a malfunction with her bike’s odometer midway through the second portion of the race, but her split time of 43:36 was good enough to keep her in contention, allowing the 26-year-old a chance to hold off a charging Howell in the run. Howell posted the 11th best overall time in the run, running the 5K in 20:44, but it wasn’t enough to get past Leonard.
“When we were coming up on the final turn, I heard footsteps so I looked behind me and saw her ponytail and I thought, ‘I better go or she’s going to catch me,’” Leonard said. “Then I saw the finish line and kept saying to myself, ‘Come on, come on.’”
While Leonard fought off a tough challenge, Olson cruised to his first sprint triathlon victory. After finishing the swim in 3:51, the Spartanburg native recorded the fastest bike split time, finishing the 20K in 35:07.
“I knew I wanted to put as much time between and the rest of the guys while on the bike because I’m pretty strong on the bike and I wasn’t so sure if I would be able to hold them off on the run,” Olson said.
But Olson did better in the run that he thought. His time of 17:51 was the fastest on the day, one second ahead of second-place overall finisher Jamie Church, of Greer.
Church finished a little more than a minute behind Olson, in 54:14, and a little less than two minutes in front of Austin Brown (56:12), who was the third overall finisher and posted the best time from a triathlete from Greenwood and the Lakelands area.
Greenwood natives Stephen Shenal and David Bridges finished eighth (1:01:07) and 14th overall (1:02:31). Shenal had the sixth fastest split time on the bike (30:02), while Bridges was the second quickest out of the water (3:46).
But a successful first run didn’t just apply to the overall winners. Twelve-year-old Haley Guyton, fresh off her win in Saturday’s Kid’s Triathlon, where she posted the only sub-20-minute time, took the first prize in the 19-under female race with a time of 1:15:01. In fact, the middle-schooler from Columbia was the eighth overall women’s finisher out of 31 female triathletes.
“I knew I wanted to try both before yesterday’s race,” said Guyton, who said her ultimate goal is one day to compete in the triathlon at the Olympic Games. “I didn’t know how quick it was going to end. I expected to be more tired. So, I just know I have to go a whole lot quicker next time.
“I felt pretty confident about what I did.”

Maybe arrests are start for solving major problem

April 24, 2006

It’s a start ..... maybe.
A few days ago, immigration agents arrested seven executives and hundreds of employees of a manufacturer of crates and pallets as part of a government crackdown on employers of illegal workers.
The raids covered offices in nine states. It was the result of a yearlong criminal investigation, law enforcement officials said. The nearest places where raids were conducted were Greenville, and Charleston, and Charlotte, N. C.
So, contrary to what some might think, some things are being done to help solve the problem with illegal immigration. Considering the results, and the time it took to investigate, it’s a good thing we didn’t hear about it while the investigation was going on and until arrests were made. That could have blown it.

THIS PARTICULAR SITUATION will not be concluded until trials are held.
Nevertheless, it’s a step in the right direction. It offers hope of solving a problem that has been getting more complex as the debate goes on, among the American people and members of Congress.
Maybe this is just one of many investigations going on as part of a major crackdown effort. If not, it should be.
Keep the pressure on. The way it looks, there’s no shortage of work to be done before the problem is retarded, let along eliminated.
Unless everyone involved is convinced that the price for getting caught is high, and that they’ll have to pay, the situation is not likely to get any better. In fact, it surely will get worse.