Finally made it to Floyds. This alone made the trip for me. This is not Floyd and there never was. Russell has been here 61 years and is the last barber to cut Andy's hair at this shop. After Russell got out of barber school he had a few job option and choose to come here at the City Barber Shop cuz the guys already here were old and knew he'd get the shop. in 1989 Russell started hanging pictures and other "mayberry things" in the shop and after gaining attention the other shop owners came in to see what he was doing. Soon they all started the "mayberry" thing and had the 1st mayberry days. The town wanted him to put "Floyds" in front of "city barber shop" and he said he would, but said he never did. One day he was asked out to lunch and when he got they had put "Floyds" in front of the "city barber Shop". I asked him what he thought about that, and he said it was ok, cuz he didn't have to pay for it. LMAO... He also says that without the tourist, Mayberry would be a ghost town. We were talking about something and he said he was waiting for his Tax Relief check so he could put a couple gallons of gas in his car. LOL... Russell is a cool guy and can make you laugh, just make sure you stand close to him, best in the chair, cuz he's a little hard of hearing, and doesn't talk very loud. I asked Russell if he had plans to retire and he said in about 20 years, then take a year off and do it as long as he can. We laughed and he continued to say that he would do it as long as he could, didn't want to sit home and die. I didn't ask how old he is, but mid 80's is my best guess, 61 years of being there, and figure he was 20 or so when he went to barber school. He said he had a few kids, they had kids and a high number of great grand kids. He said none of them want the shop and figures the shop will close when he can't do it any longer. So, if any plans on coming up to "Mayberry" sooner the better. Starting in 1989 he had a guest book people signed when they came in, he said he quit sometime in the 90's when he had over 40,000 guest sign his book. he claims over 300k people have come in for a cut since 1989. Since I walked in his shop at 4:45pm and the sign says he closes at 5pm I asked if he had time for one more, and he said yes. The cost of this memory is priceless to me as I have been watching reruns of andy griffth since I was a kid, but the actual cost of the cut was only $8.00, Since he stayed late, I just gave him $15. Anyway, I had a blast and is my favorite part of the trip so far.
