Come October, Windham’s first and oldest barbershop, J & L Haircutters, will be closing its doors for good. Barber duo Lynden and Jeanette Pitt have decided to move on and, though they are sad to close the “mom and pop” business that has been a fixture in town since the 1950s, the couple said they are excited to set off on new adventures and perhaps teach the age-old trade of haircutting to a new generation of barbers.

“If you can cut a skin-tight flat-top, you can cut any type of haircut,” Lynden said. “Not many people can do a good flat top. It takes practice, practice, practice.”

Even after cutting hair for some forty years, Lynden hasn’t yet tired of the daily clip. He sees every head of hair as a new challenge, an opportunity to perfect the cut. And so he and his wife have specialized over the years in haircutting, leaving chemicals and dyes to fancy salons.

“We discovered long ago that we are not hair stylists,” Lynden said, insisting that his customers are their own stylists.

Though he comes from a long line of barbers, Lynden is the first to go to barber school to learn the trade and the first to marry another barber. In fact, he and his wife met while cutting hair together at Al’s Barbershop in South Portland. Then when Lynden’s father Ron retired, the couple took over his barbershop here in Windham and renamed it, J & L Haircutters.

The couple sees haircutting as an art form that takes patience and skill. The trade of the barber is the second oldest profession, Lynden said. Before the days of modern medicine, barbers pulled teeth, removed bullets and acted as local doctors.

“If you felt sick, the barber would cut you and let out the bad blood,” Lynden said of the olden days.

While blood letting, patients would rest their arms on white poles with basins at the bottom to collect the blood, Lynden explains. This is how the white pole, with red and blue spiralling stripes, became the symbol for barbershops, the red signifying let blood and the blue representing veins.

Lynden’s own haircutting heritage goes back to the late 1800s when his great great uncle, James Pitt, was named “Champion Barber of the World” for shaving a man in a minute and a half. Though his competitor shaved faster, he nicked his subject and so lost the medal and the honor.

“Uncle James won with his speed and accuracy,” said Lynden who now keeps the 1891 champion medal in honor of his ancestor, “Without the accuracy, the speed isn’t worth a damn.”

Lynden’s grandfather, Harry Pitt, cut hair on battleships during World War II. After the war, he opened up shop on Portland St. in Portland. Back in those days, a shave and a haircut was truly two bits (ten and five cents) and barbers were in high demand because people rarely shaved themselves.

“In the old days, the barber had to work ’til near midnight on Saturdays” to give Sunday church-goers a clean shave, Lynden said.

Barbers often set up shop across from pubs and saloons, Lynden said, so as soon as the men got their shave they could walk next door to drink and dance with the ladies.

Lynden remembers fondly how customers would linger at his father and grandfather’s barbershops just to talk and be social.

“People had time to come and socialize and get caught up on the gossip,” Lynden said.

He also has fond memories of growing up in Windham during a time when Boody’s Corner in North Windham had no more than a few shops. Now, with North Windham bustling with traffic and sprouting business after business along Route 302, that has all changed.

And, despite a steady partonage of customers, Lynden said it has been difficult to continue to run his small business. But this is just one of many reasons why the couple has decided to move on, Lynden said.

The barber duo will close the shop next month to semi-retire outside of Phoenix, Arizona. There, Lynden hopes to enroll in barber school once again, in hopes of teaching the art of haircutting to a world obsessed with cheap cuts, perms and highlights.

“This is the last hoorah for four generations. It’s a bittersweet thing.” Lynden said, “We wish our many friends and many customers the best of luck. We’re going to miss you all.”

J & L Haircutters will remain open until the first of October when the couple plans to hang up their shears and lock up shop.

Barber duo Jeanette and Lynden Pitt stand outside Windham’s first and oldest barbershop, J & L Haircutters. The couple will be closing up shop next month to move on to warmer climes, bringing to an end the barbershop’s long run.