You can make history with your hair this month by getting an “Elvis-style” G.I. hair cut at the Fort Chaffee Barbershop Museum’s first Elvis Army Hair Cut Day.

Show up at the Museum March 25, 1- 4 p.m. to relive a bit of local history and, just for fun – if you dare – get the same kind of hair cut U.S. Army draftee Elvis Presley got in that same building on March 25, 1958.

The barber for the event will be Jimmy Don Peterson, whose dad, James “Bee” Peterson, is the one who sheared off the trademark, long, black locks and sideburns of the young King of Rock’n’Roll – to the shock and horror of Elvis fans worldwide. It’s hard to draw a 2009 comparison to the world news Elvis’ military hair cut made in 1958. I can’t think of a current male musician with the star power Elvis had then (and arguably still has).

During the Barbershop Museum’s commemoration of “the” hair cut, Jimmy Peterson (as he barbers) will recall his dad’s Elvis experience. Former newspaper photographer Jack Cleavenger and TV reporter Jim Kell will also talk about covering the Elvis hair cut as a news event, and their memories of being around Elvis that day. Cleavenger’s “Hair today, gone tomorrow!” shot was used by his own newspaper and many other publications and wire services. It remains one of the most popular photos of the hair cut. Fred Kinslow, another barber who was working that day, served as an advisor for the barbershop’s restoration and also hopes to attend.

One person very important to the barbershop restoration can’t be there. In 1997, Beard Elementary School teacher Jan Honeycut and her sixth-grade economics classes began working and lobbying for the restoration of the building where Elvis got the famous hair cut. They also began holding
an annual Elvis Economics Carnival for their school near the date of the anniversary.

This year spring break for Fort Smith schools falls during the week of March 25, so Jan will be out of town that day and her class will host their carnival a week early.

But she is encouraging her current and former students to attend the Barbershop Museum event. And, if their parents approve, maybe even get an Elvis-style G.I. cut to show off after Spring Break!

The G.I. cuts will be given on a first-come basis and everyone – especially TV, radio, newspaper and other public personalities – should consider getting a “Clip like the King’s,” says Carolyn Joyce of the Fort Smith Convention and Visitors Bureau. Joyce helps promote the museum and trains the volunteers who staff it during its normal hours of 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each Monday and Friday. She would love to see the museum open every
day, but says she needs 20 to 25 more volunteers to accomplish that.

The Barbershop Museum was established last year by the Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority and FCRA Executive Director, Ivy Owen. Owen, who formerly lived and worked in Memphis, met Elvis briefly there in 1975.
Maybe he’ll share his Elvis story during the hair cut day, too.

“The Barbershop Museum has become one of the prime destinations for tourists at Chaffee,” Owen says, “ We’re proud to co-host this unique event on the 51st anniversary of Elvis’ G.I. hair cut, at the site it actually took place.”

Since opening Sept. 1, the museum has had about 500 visitors from more than 20 states and Canada, Japan and Germany. Donations of various types of artifacts documenting the history of Fort Chaffee, and the barbershop have also steadily increased, now that there is a secure place to keep and display them, Joyce says.

For more information contact Carolyn Joyce at 479-783-8888, or FCRA offices at 479-452-4554.

Linda Seubold, editor of Entertainment Fort Smith Magazine, can be reached at lindaseubold@efortsmith.com. Read her archived columns and articles online.

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