Volume 17, Number 46
Berlin’s Only Hometown Newspaper
www.berlincitizen.com
Thursday, November 14, 2013
After 61 years, barber still loves what he does By Daniel Jackson The Berlin Citizen
Keynote speaker Ret. Brigadier General Daniel J. McHale addresses the crowd gathered at Veterans Memorial Park Nov. 11, Veterans Day. | (Photo by Maura Gaffney)
Speaker urges year-round support of veterans By Maura Gaffney Special to The Citizen
The Berlin Veterans Commission held a special ceremony in Veterans Memorial Park Nov. 11 to honor all those who have served in the armed forces. “Inspire a movement to improve the lives of veterans.” Ret. Brigadier General Daniel J. McHale spoke these words in his keynote address during the Veterans Day ceremony Monday morning. McHale’s heartfelt message to the crowd was essentially that ‘well done is better than well said.’ “On this Veterans Day, I ask you not just to utter words of thanks to our veterans, but let your actions be the torch that you would hold high,” McHale said. “Let’s thank them not only today but every day.” McHale, whose military career spanned several decades and sent him all over the world, encouraged the crowd to actively support veterans in the community. “How do we honor their sacrifice? How do we celebrate their service? How do we make a difference in the lives of the men and women who have made such a difference in our lives,” he asked.
On Nov. 6, Enzo DeGasperis welcomed yet another customer into his barber chair. As he deftly swept electric hair clippers across the young man’s head, shaping the already short hair to a tight, military-length haircut, he asked about the man’s work. The man had the day off. As the two chatted, DeGasperis cleaned the man’s neck with a straight razor and brushed the man’s head with a white-bristled brush. In the background, on TV, an episode of the Three Stooges finished up and an action movie had begun. Mens magazines, such as the August issue of Field and Stream, lay around the shop.
DeGasperis has worked here, Star Barber Shop on Main Street, for 32 years, maneuvering around the same chair, stepping so often on the same spot to reach his tools that he wore a footprint through the linoleum down to the concrete. During that time, he has cut residents’ hair, who then bring their sons “and they bring their own sons. Three generations.” The first haircut is a landmark occasion for parents and children alike, with parents taking photos to memorialize the event. DeGasperis has kept some of those photos. Among the photos he keeps pinned to a cork board, there are images of DeGasperis See Barber / Page 4
As Connecticut’s Transition Assistance Advisor, a Department of Defense contractor who provides advocacy and outreach to veterans as well as active military and their families, McHale understands the needs of veterans, and is uniquely qualified to answer these questions. “Encourage business owners to hire wounded warriors and military family members. Get involved in veterans’ service organizations like Wounded Warriors,” he said. McHale also stressed the importance of providing veterans with quality medical care and military benefits. “I think about the men and women learning how to use prosthetic hands and arms and legs and learning to live without eyesight. I think about the lone sentinel standing watch at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier during a hurricane. Many veterans do remarkable things like this every day,” he said. McHale also noted that veterans from the Vietnam generation still have the highest percentage of homelessness. The Invocation for the ceremony, given by Michelle Lewis, Pastor of East Berlin See Speaker / Page 9
Enzo DeGasperis cuts a customer’s hair. | (Daniel Jackson/The Berlin Citizen)