Cheryle Johnson has been cutting hair at her Altona salon for so long, she’s not sure when she started.
“I reckon it might’ve been 61 or 62,” said Ms Johnson when asked what year her Pier Street salon opened.
Born in 1946, Ms Johnson turned 79 recently and claims to have opened the salon with the support of her parents when she was 16, meaning it must’ve been 1962. But then she said she’d had the business for 64 years, meaning 1961 must’ve been the starting point.
But while the date she opened is uncertain, the closing date isn’t.
At the end of this month, Ms Johnson will hang up her scissors for the final time, retiring from the only job she’s ever had.
“I’m really sad to be going, but it’s just time for me to pull back a little bit,” said Ms Johnson whose last day of trading will be August 29.
“I still love it, but it’s just that stage.
“I’m going to turn into a hobby for family and friends.”
As a great-grandmother, Ms Johnson has enough family and friends to still keep her busy, though maybe not the Tuesday to Saturday schedule she’s been working since the days of beehives and rollers.
Despite trends and technology changing, she said most important aspect of hairdressing remained the same: conversation.
“It’s a massive social life, it’s wonderful,” she said, adding that some of her customers had been with her for more than 50 years and one for almost her whole career.
She thanked all her customers, employees and the Altona community for helping her for the past 64 (or 63) years.
