Tim Spitzack
Editor
It used to be that men got their hair cut and women had their locks styled. While those lines have blurred considerably in the past 50 years, many professional barbers are quick to educate people on the difference. They are protective of their trade and take their craft seriously. Barbers, they’ll tell you, are trained to trim hair and whiskers using clippers, razors, straight razors and shears. In fact, one must have a barber’s license to use a straight razor on a customer.
The barber pole is the most iconic symbol of their trade and they have fought to keep it that way. They scored a big victory in 2013 when the Minnesota Legislature passed a law that says the traditional red-white-and-blue-stripped barber pole may only be displayed on the shop of a licensed barber.
St. Paul is home to the last remaining maker of barber poles in the western hemisphere. Since 1950, the William Marvy Co. at 1540 St. Clair Ave. has been turning out poles for barbers across the country and around the world. The company was founded by William “Bill” Marvy, who at age 13 began working at a barber supply company in St. Paul. He worked his way into a sales job and spent his weekdays on the road peddling supplies to barbers across the state. In 1936 he branched out on his own and founded the William Marvy Co., working out of the basement of his parents’ home. By 1940 he moved his fledgling company into a commercial loft building in downtown St. Paul and a few years later relocated to a storefront location to sell retail barber supplies. As the business grew, he expanded to a neighboring storefront. Then he was struck with an idea that changed the trajectory of his company. Marvy was dissatisfied with the barber poles he was able to offer his retail customers – they were prone to rust and had glass encasements that were often vandalized. Convinced he could build a better pole, he decided to start manufacturing them himself. He invented the “Six Ways Better” barber pole and produced the first one on Jan. 1, 1950. It was made of rustproof aluminum and non-chip stainless steel, had an unbreakable glass cylinder, and was driven by an electric motor. During trade show demonstrations, Marvy reportedly proved its indestructibility by repeatedly hitting it with a hammer.
The pole was an instant success and fueled growth for the company, and the need to expand. In 1961 they moved to their current location and ramped up production. In 1967, they produced 5,100 poles. It was their highest number to date. Then came the long-hair revolution of the 1960s and ’70s, which caused barber shops across the country to close at an alarming rate. Of course, that affected the William Marvy Co. To remain competitive, the company began offering sanitizers, disinfectants and other barbering sundries. Today, it still manufactures poles and has a repair shop that can restore nearly any barber pole manufactured in the United States. Last year, the company produced 450 poles, and in early 2024 made their 90,000th pole. The company remains a family affair, operated by William’s son Robert and grandsons Scott, Dan and Brad. The Marvy pole is so emblematic of American culture that two are in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution.
The barber pole dates to the Middle Ages, when barbers also performed minor medical services, such as tooth extraction and bloodletting. They hung blood-soaked bandages on a pole outside their shops and the wind whipped them around, forming the signature spiral of modern barber poles. Around the turn of the 19th century, pole manufactures began using the patriotic colors of red, white and blue for the cylinder’s stripes.
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