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Email this article75-year-old hair stylist is still going strong
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By Tyra Pacheco
The chemicals have improved, the scissors have gotten better and different styles have come and gone. But one thing has remained the same for more than 50 years of hairdressing: the popularity of James Hunt.
Known to his customers as Mr. James, the 75-year-old New Bedford resident has made a career out of making women look and feel beautiful, and that career shows no sign of slowing down.
A former aviation mechanic in the Navy, Mr. Hunt considered many careers when his service in the military ended, but hairdressing was never one of them. A friend who was considering hairdressing school pleaded with Mr. Hunt to accompany him. After Hurricane Carol forced the cancellation of his civil service exam in 1954, Mr. Hunt reluctantly agreed to give hairdressing a try.
"I was fascinated by it," Mr. Hunt said. "I was fascinated by what hair could do."
That fascination fueled a career that has spanned more than 50 years, a career with humble beginnings and a successful end.
Mr. Hunt's first hairdressing job was at a successful salon in downtown New Bedford, where he eventually became the manager of 27 employees.
Seven years later, the unlikely hairdresser decided to open a salon of his own. Mr. Hunt's employer released him from a contract that prevented him from opening a salon within 10 miles of the downtown salon. However, just as Mr. Hunt was about to open a new salon in Fairhaven called "Mr. James," his former boss had a change of heart.
"He went and shut me down legally," said Mr. Hunt, who fought the case all the way to the Supreme Court in Boston. According to Mr. Hunt, the court decreed that a three-mile radius was fair, and he was able to open his salon - three and two-tenths miles away.
"I had a tremendous amount of publicity out of this," Mr. Hunt said. "In the end of all of it, he did me the biggest favor in the world. I had them banging down the doors because people wanted to know why the giant wanted to get the little man. They just kept coming and coming and coming."
The business grew over the years, and Mr. Hunt hired other hairdressers to join his team. The salon moved twice, eventually ending up at 107 Main St. in Fairhaven.
Ten years ago, at the age of 65, Mr. Hunt started thinking about retirement.
He put the business up for sale, and two hairdressers working in New Bedford jumped at the chance to own their own business. Michelle Pimental and Beverly Rousseau gave the salon a makeover and renamed the newly coiffed business All the Angles.
In the end, Mr. Hunt was unable to leave his clientele behind, and he decided to stay on with the new owners.
"We absolutely love him," Ms. Pimental said. "We have eight stylists here and he's an inspiration to all of us. He sets the pace."
Source: The Standard-TimesAll rights reserved.