FROM THE ASSOCIATE EDITOR By Diana Rojo-Garcia AUGUST 2021 • VOLUME 16, ISSUE 8 PUBLISHER Steve Jameson EDITOR Joe Spear ASSOCIATE Diana Rojo-Garcia EDITOR COPY EDITOR Kathy Vos CONTRIBUTORS Bert Mattson Dan Greenwood Jean Lundquist Kat Baumann Leticia Gonzalez Ann Rosenquist Fee Pete Steiner Nell Musolf Jane Turpin Moore PHOTOGRAPHER Pat Christman
PAGE DESIGNER Christina Sankey ADVERTISING Danny Creel SALES Jordan Greer-Friesz Josh Zimmerman Theresa Haefner Tim Keech ADVERTISING Barb Wass ASSISTANT ADVERTISING Christina Sankey DESIGNER CIRCULATION Justin Niles DIRECTOR
Mankato Magazine is published by The Free Press Media monthly at 418 South Second St., Mankato MN 56001. To subscribe, call 1-800-657-4662 or 507-625-4451. $35.40 for 12 issues. For all editorial inquiries, call Diana Rojo-Garcia 507-344-6305, or email drojogarcia@mankatofreepress.com. For advertising, call 344-6364, or e-mail advertising@mankatofreepress.com.
6 • AUGUST 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
Good hair, don’t care
L
ike most students, each August I began to gripe and moan at the thought of heading back to school. My main beef? Getting up early after months of sleeping in on most summer days. But unlike some students, I actually enjoyed going to school. Particularly, I liked the back-toschool shopping that took place yearly. The first indication summer would soon be over was when stores began to fill their seasonal aisles with school supplies — a smell I can never really place but transported me to fall’s chilly breeze and the good vibes from the Scholastic book fair. Apart from hand-selecting each type of pencil I’d inevitably lose by the end of the year or which Rugrat character would be on the cover of my English notebook, I was preparing that new drip for the school year. The fresh new sneakers, a T-shirt with a sassy quote paired with those sequined pants Mom always thought were cute. (I didn’t … but I wasn’t buying it, so I lost that battle each time.) Donning the back-to-school outfit wouldn’t be complete, however, without a fresh, slick cut. Fortunately for me, Mom didn’t want my hair to be cut short. For years, my hair was cut to have a few layers with a V shape. And since we went to the same hairdresser all of my life, she knew exactly what to do each year when we geared up for back-to-school haircuts. Plus, I was in elementary school — hairstyles weren’t a big thing for me such as, let’s say, making sure I had the coolest mechanical pencil. As long as the hair stayed out of my face in a ponytail while I was swinging away on the monkey bars, it was a good haircut. My brother, on the other hand,
always kept up with the latest trend. He took pride in what he wore — cleaning his shoes to be squeaky clean, freshly ironed his plaid shirts and always looked fresh with his hair. Two decades later, he’s still the same. It’s always been his hair he’s taken the most pride in. Over the years, it’s changed drastically. Looking through photos, we can pin the year the photo was taken by looking at his hair — almost like an archaeologist relative dating an artifact. There was the accidental buzz cut in the early 2000s in seventh grade, performed by an older gentleman. (It didn’t go well … My brother remained upset until his hair grew back.) There was the emo phase beginning circa 2005 — spiked hair in the back and hidden eyes in front; the buzz cut during his punk phase around 2010; the slightly longer, flat-ironed style late 2012 during his hipster phase, and finally, his primp and crazily expensive fresh fade. For me, a relatively lowmaintenance kind of gal, I’d never understood his obsession with his haircut. Especially because I only get my haircut once a year … OK maybe once every two years. That obsession, he said, was more than just being trendy. It was a statement in which he’d express himself through hair. And, most importantly, he felt good — especially important on the very first day of school. This month, writer Jane Turpin Moore spoke with four local barbers who’ve helped people feel their very best when getting their haircut. Learn the new trends coming up and about their perfectly honed craft that is hair, and book an appointment before school starts or heading back to the office!
