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SOUTH CAROLINA, WRITERS' PROJECT4
Life History
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TITLE: HOE MR. wpm BECAME *KING* OF THE BARBER MINES 10
(No fictitious names used 0. all true)
Date of First Writing
Nane of Person Interviewed
Street Address'
Place,
Occupation
Office Address
Name of Writer
Name of Reviser
January 20, 1938
John N.Queen (white)
126 N. Walker Street
Spartanburg, S. C.
Barber and Beauty Supplies
112 Magnolia Street
Elmer Turnage
State Office
words
*J. N. Queen -Beauty and Barber Supplies —Upstairs* is the sign
in bold lettering on the front of a glass case standing inconspicuously
on the sidewalk in a narrow passage between two buildings on Magnolia
Street* The contents of the oase are an index to a division of
interest barber shop accessories and singing associations. Along with
a hair brush, a Japanese comb, several bottles of hair tOnic, a variety
of razors and similar articles, two or three song books (hymnals)
repose in the ease*
From the alley an old iron stairway leads to the door of the office.
The outside padlock is unfastened, but the door is securely locked on the
inside. A sheet of tin, replacing for the broken glass in the door,
rattles and reverberates as I rapped loudly, seeking admittance one cold
day for a chat with the *king of the barber business**
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-r
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"just a minute," calls the musical bass voice of Mr. QueeN)typtoal
sot_21,bleregier-'
As the look clicks and the heavy door on the stair landing opens
with a soreak, Mk. Queen stands smilingly before no. Bespectacled, he
carries his 200 pounds well distributed over his six foot physique,
radiating vitality that does not indicate his 66 years.
"Goad morning. Cons right in to the fire," he booms, and I follow
him through a little room so filled with the supplies of the beauty and
barber business that it is necessary for us to pass sinele file into his
office beyond. Boxes of creams and lotions were stacked along the walls;
sun lamps, electric clippers, new and used barber chairs occupied almost
every foot of space.
"Take a seat and rest yourself," said W. Queen, pointing to a chair
near the glowing fire in the open grate. "What can I do for you this
morning? Ah, you want one of the new song books. It's here some place,
I'll find it in a minute. Pahew, there they go --all over the floor:"
A pile of hymnals tumbled from one of the tables as he spoke, adding to
the heterogentous confusion of the office.
On one wall hung a variety of small articles representing partly the
supplies Mr. Queen sells to the barber trade: combs, brushes, razors and
the like. A large draftman's table was incongruously piled high with
beauty aids of various description: hair tonics, massage creams, depila-
tories, indicating that the business does not exclude the feminine gender.
A few other tables were equally disarrayed, but when W. Queen began to
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warm ta his musical and barber business reminiscences, his aparkling
personality made the jumbled appearance of the room unimportant.
"Sparkling Songs, here it is --a brand new book, put out by the
A. L. Showalter Company of Dalton, Ga. See, Protaar-Smith-etitalrIreire-
-dttsed-mgaelf_as-e-prefteherie this book was copyrighted this year."
Thum4ing through the pages Mr. Queen hums the tune of a song.
"Oh, yes," he says suddenly, *number sevens 'Since Jesus is Living
in Me.' No. no. it's not the only song I've written. My songs are in
seven different song books. I've been fooling with music all my life.
It's just a sort of hobby with me I used to play cornet and several
other instruments, but all I do in the music line now is to sing."
He adjusted his spectacles and ran his fingers through his thin hair,
cleared his throat and said, *Maw listen, Brother. Here's haw this thing
goes--do-o-o, sol, fa -a -a, me, do -o -o." He was reading from the shaped
notes --the squares, the triangles, the diamonds, and other geometric figures.
Presently he forsook the old-time symbols to hum the tune, occasionally
supplying the proper words.
"We Smith,* he said, *I'm glad you folks over there like our songs;
nine out of every ten churches do, whether they use them or not. The only
one in town that fights us is that little jacks -leg Baptist preacher over
there on Green Street, and because he doesn't like them, he's always trying
to say something to hurt the books. The reason that church doesn't use
my book is because they don't know how to sing the songs,- just a minute,
somebody's at the door.*
His heavy voice rose above the rattle of the tin on the door. "Come
on in, the door's unlocked."
Amoment later --after stumbling over some obstruction in the other
roam --a young man peered in at the door.
"I just wanted to get some more of that massage cream," he said; it's
the best I ever used."
4
The young fellow left the place shortly with a 16 -ounce jar of the
pink -colored cream* It had cost him only 50 cents.
"Now that's some of my awn make," Mr. Queen said proudly. "You see
what it says on the label J. R. Queen, Spartanburg,* S. C. I have it
made in New York, for they can make it lots cheaper than I can because they
make so much of it at a time. It's my amm formula though; made from
pure cow's sink, just before it clabbers. Of course it has a little oxalic
acid and a few other things in it."
Mr. Queen picked up another jar of the cream and reached over and
took his visitor by the hand.
"You thivik your hand is clean, don't you? Well* just let ma show
you something. I'll rub a little of this massage cream into the pores
see,
now youifit brings the dirt right out. Oh no* your hand wasn't really
dirty it was just as clean as you can get it with soap and water; but
the cream brings stuff out of the pores that water can't reach. That
jar really cost no 47 cents, but I sell so much of it that I can afford
to let it go almost at cost. In fact* I used to have a large crew of girls
who did nothing but sell my cosmetics.
"Now, getting back to the singing business I've been messing with
it regularly for thirty years. In the spring of 1909 Judge Burnett and
I decided to form an association from the old-time singing custom* where
people in .the old days used to get tAgether and have all -day singings.
We net at Cimninghem's qohool house, about 12 miles from here, with a
group of people and formed what we called 'The Spartanburg County Singing
Association.' Soon afterwards, people from more distant parts became
interested and we had to form another association* We met every Sunday,
usually in a school house, but sometimes we would use the courthouse
when it was available.
"Now there are forty associations in upper South Carolina mad part
of North Carolina, Each group has a president* a vice-president* Beare-
tary, and treasurer. I'm the president of four different associations.
We don't have an organized membership; anyone who wants to can come* and
everybody has a right to vote in the election of the officers. A free-
will offering takes care of all misoellaneous expenses, and no one receives
any compensation for his services, other than the pleasure he gets out of
attending. Attendance varies from 40 to 150* according to the number of
people in the community. Some of the smaller counties have only one
association* but there are several in this county.
"Five or six singing associations meet periodically and have a rally,
or convention, and every year we have a state convention, when all 40
associations come together.
'Each association meets every Sunday morning at 10$30. Sometimes
two or three use the same meeting place* each alternately taking the lead.
A piano or other instrximerftewhen available, are used in the meetings*
but the chief activity is group -singing. Sometimes we have quartet
singing, especially on every fifth Sunday* when the convention meets for
an all -day singing. Often 30 or 40 quartets take part in these special
meetings. Usually there are several hundred people present. The meeting
is opened with prayer, followed by several short talks. Each person
brings his own basket, and members of the community in which the meeting
is held take charge of the dinner, spreading it on long tables from which
all eat together.
"The State convention meets every August, at Greenville, but there's
also a big district convention at Clemson College. Besides the singing
and talks, business matters are taken up at the State convention: Mimic
publishers are there to display their hymnals; that's how I got into
writing songs and selling books. The attendance at the big convention
runs around 2,000.
"The first book used by the singing associations was the old Christian
Harmony, written by the notedlffilliamMalker of this county: Two differ-
ent books each year are used: They are collections of about 150 old-time
songs and 50 new ones. The publisher collects and compiles the songs;
then submits them to the presidents of the various associations before
having the book published. The books now used are Sweet Heaven and
Priceless Pearls. At the request of the presidents of the other assodiations,
I collaborate with the publisher in getting out all the new hymnals.
I also purchase the books and sell them to the members of the different
associations. The wholesale price of the books runs about 18 aents a
copy, and the retail price is 35 cents, but no profit is made, for many
of them are given to members who are unable to pay for them. Local music
writers often contribute compositions to the hymnals --an example is
Mr. Sam Bishop of Saxon mills, who has contributed several of his own
compositions."
*Don't guess you smoke?" Mr. Queen made it more of a statement than
a question, as he lit a aheeftbwand cigarette. "I'm not particular what
kind I use, but I smoke lots of 'em --sometimes light one off another.
Irjan_he_was..platittr-treeitentedly, it MVA easy to draw from him the
high lights skf his varied career.
Mr. Queen was born October 2, 1873 in Burk County, N. C. Be came
of a family of four boys and four girls, ,three of the girls being half-
sisters to him. His family was considered "big farmers" in the section
from which he came. His father died at the age of 47, and his mother
at 74.
On the large farm where Mr. Queen spent his early years, everything
was raised, and all that had to be bought was "a little snuff, sugar,
coffee, and the like." The country was richly adapted to the growth of
tobacco, and several acres of land were always planted in this commodity.
"We also raised rice, which looked very much like oats when it was
still in the raw form," he explained. "The husks were removed in a 'beatler',
made from the stump of a tree which had been sawed off about four feet from
the ground. The stump was hollowed out to hold the unbeaten rice.
A stick, made something like a baseball bat was used to beat the rice.
It took about an hour to beat out two pounds.
"About 4,000 bushels of corn and 6,000 bushels of wheat were raised every
year on the farm. Thirty-five to forty small .hogs were killed each year
to furnish meat for the family and the hired hands."
The first school attended by Mr. Queen was a small one -roam log
cabin. He said that it was 80 well ventilated that "you could throw
a dog through some of the cracks." His first teacher was Walter Fear's,
from Charleston, who boarded with the Queen family, His salary was $20
a month, Mr. Queen's father was a superintendent of the school. Money
on which to run the school was appropriated by the county. It was open
only about three ,n_lths a year, these usually being the winter months.
The hundred or so?scholareA were divided into several different
classes," Mr. Queen continued. 'Reading, spelling, geography, and mathe-
matics were the main subjects taught in this country school. The
one -room log building contained a series of long benches, the front one
being used by the reciting class* After eaoh class was questioned on
its lessons it would move to the bench at the back of the roam, and the
next class would move forward to recite. Some of the first books used
in this school were the blue -back speller, Winston's reader, and
Welster's dictionary.*
Mr. Queen VIVA 11 years old when the family moved to the little town
of Glen Alpins N. C. Here he attended the Glen Alpin academy. Tuition
VW #1.50 per month. He said that his teacher, R. L. Patton, was the
finest man he ever saw. It. Patton told his class of 36 students that when
be was a small boy he was once severely whipped by his father, and later
in the day when he was sent to get some wood, he ran away from home.
After roaming about awhile he went to Philadelphia, where he worked his
way through school. The philosophy of this old teacher was always a
guiding light for Mr. It/sten. Be said of him:
"I shall never forget haw the old man looked when he told us the
story. He said, 'Now boys, don't think that just because you are poor
you can't get to the top of the ladder; and I hope to see, all of you there
some day.' And every one of his 36 students did get to the top of the
ladder in one way or another. Mr. R. Be Simpson of the Southern Railway
was one of those boys; Ed Poe, senator from Borth Carolina, was another;
and one of them was the great Baptist missionary Tom Blalock.. I got to
the top of the ladder in the barber business. too. I started with a
one -chair shop in 1901 and in 1918 I owned the biggest single barber shop
in the world --a thirty -chair shop, all in one room."
Mr. Queen began his career as a barber while he was still in school,
at the age of fourteen. He soon went to Nashville, Tennessee, where he
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studied barbering under J. L. Jones, a nationally known teacher. He grad-
uated from the barber college when he VAS 16 years old. Up to this time
he had made little money, only about enough to defray his expenses.
He came home and stayed for a year; then went to Chicago, where he took
further trairinc in the barber business. He also served in the United
States Army. Recalling some of his experiences in the army, W. Queen said:
'When I VILS 19 years old I went to Columbus, Ohio, and signed up
with the 4th Infantry, From there I was sent to Fort Spokane, Washington.
During my first two years in the Berrie* I received private's pay of
$13 a month, but, according to regulations, was raised to $14 the third
year. Of course, this did not represent all that I made while I was in
the army, for the government allowed me $12 extra each month for teaching
school, and with what I made barbering, the whole amount was something
like $150 a month. My official duty was drum major, but I also did other
things. For awhile I clerked in the commissary department, and at another
time I worked in the adjutant's office. One time when the colonel was
away, the adjutant took his place and I took the place of the adjutant;
that was only for about ten days, though.
"The army has chanced in a lot of ways since I was a soldier. At that
time New York had as many militia as the national government had regulars.
There were only nine divisions in the United States. These represented
25 regiments of infantry, 10 of cavalry, and five light artillery.
A regiment consisted of 12 companies, and had as officers, a colonel,
lieutenant -colonel, major, 12 captains, 12 first and 12 second lieutenants,
and so on, down to the sergeants and corporals.
"One of my most interesting experiences while I was in the army was
a hunting and fishing trip I took with some of the boys. We left Fort
Spokane and went 65 miles up the Columbia River, crossed over and made our
10
camp on the Canadian side. We stayed up there in the wilderness for
ten days. Besides myself, the group consisted of Dr. Culp, Chas. Bulb
(captain's son), private Davis, Mr. Gardner (an old hunter and trapper),
and Thomas Edison. Mr. Edison joined us after we set up our camp; he was
an intimate friend of Dr. Culp. I remember that he had several of his
inventions with him. He had a little static machine I wasn't familiar
with the mechanism and when he turned the crank the sparks would fly in
every direotion. I asked him what he thought electricity was, and he
replied: 'Electricity is just electricity, that's all I knaw.1, He also
had a.talking machine which had attached to it about a dozen listening
tubes. We sat around camp at night with those tubes in our ears and listened
to the music. One piece that Edison liked to play was The Sidewalks of
New York. Another thin he had with him was a machine into which we could
look and see pictures in motion; it also was operated by a hand crank.
I believe it was the earliest type of motion picture machines.
"None of us got more enjoyment out of our outing than did Mr. Edison.
We all slept together, and when one turned over, all had to turn. Like
each of the others, Edison took his turn watching at night for coyotes and
other wild animals. I still have a picture taken of him as he sat in
front of our tent.
"I Was discharged from the army at Fort Sheridan, Ill., in 1897.
During my three years service I saved $2,700, and it was this money that
gave me a start in the business world."
_After leaving the army W. Queen went to Nashville, Tenn., where he
joined the city police force and remained for seven or eight months. He
received $60 a month for his services. From Nashville he went to Chicago
and rented a beauty and barber establishment; he employed several man
and ten girls, all of whom worked on the commission beats. He did no
actual barber work himself; he was engaged in other activities. In reply
to questions concerning the nature of his "work on the side," Mr. Queen
said:
"I did special work for the post office department and also for private
detective agencies, but I don't want to give out any information about
that; they want things like that kept under cover."
For several years Mr. Queen did this speoial work, besides that of
carrying on his barber business. During his ten months in Chicago he
made "a good deal" or money, but his expenses were dear and he saved only
about $800. For about two years after leaving Chicago, he resided in
North Carolina, most of the time being spent in Caroleen, where he ran
two shops. During this period he cleared about $4,000, and invested most
of his savings in barber equipment.
In 1901 Mi.. Queen went to Clifton, S. C., and set up a small ono -chair
barber shop he also kept those in North Carolina. His reason for going
to Clifton was to get situated in the midst of a manufacturing district,
where he had visions of building up a big trade among the mill employees.
At that time Clifton was a thriving cotton mill town, and it proved to be
an admirable location for W. Queen's business* He soon had three shops
in operation --a monopoly on the barber business in that section* He made
it a policy from the very beginning to employ all the help he needed and
to devote most of his time to the building up of his business. Among his
other activities at Clifton, was the establishment of a weekly newspaper.
He also placed various types of vending machines in all the store buildings.
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By June 1903 he was clearing about $300 a month; then came the Paoolet
River flood and destroyed all his equipment. This misfortune did not
discourage him, however,
With the five or six thousand dollars W. Queen had saved, he opened
up business in Spartanburg, S. C. in 1903o The three -chair shop which
he operated on Magnolia Street represented only a part of his business.
Beginning on a small scale, he set up a barber supply house. He joined
barber associations; went to their conventions; visited manufacturers
of barber supplies, and learneeeverything there is to know about the
barber business." In referring to what was the most important phase
of his business, W. Queen saidt
"As soon as I came to Spartanburg I started a school for barbers and
beauticians. It was the first school of its kind in the South; Atlanta
established one the next year. My school was in continuous operation
for about 25 years. During that time I taught 4,464 men and women the
barber and beauty trade* my students are to be found in every State
in the Union almost every town and in five foreign countries. The
thing that I am most proud of, is that not one of them has ever failed on
an examination* During the World War I was one of the two who passed the
government test for the teaching of barbers. while Camp Wadsworth was
located here I taught 137 soldiers the barber trade."
The three -chair shop which W. Queen opened in 1903 was enlarged to
a six -chair shop within six months, In 1904 he opened up four additional
shops. He followed the policy of opening several small shops; then closing
some of them to make a few larger ones, fr. Queen's barber business
netted him a profit of about $100 a month for the first year in Spartanburg.
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Up to 1917 the increase in business and earnings was gradual. Net earnings
and profits were of course derived from several sources. The barber shops
were rented but the equipment belonged to Mi.. Queen. He employed barbers
to work on a commission basis; he hired agents to sell cosmetics and
barber supplies, and some of the larger equipment, suoh as barber chairs,
he rented. Besides this he made a fair profit from the tuition of his
students in the barber college
The monthly profit -earnings of $100 in 1903 gradually rose to more
than $1,000. During the World War business reached an abnormally high
level. In 1918 Mr. Queen oonverted his barber college into a 30 -chair
shop, thus making what he says was the largest barber shop in the world.
The largest day's business, was $982.20 clear profit. One barber earned
for his day's work $156.20.
"Let me see if I can find some of my records," said Mr. Queen, "and
I'll show you about haw the business now runs."
It was revealed from his records that Mr. Queen controls 31 barber
shops in and around Spartanburg. He also has several in North Carolina.
He estimated that he took in about $1,000 a day. He said that his rating
in Duna Bradstreet is $75,000.
Mr. Queen has been married for many years but they have no children.
Besides the interest he has in old-time singings, his chief hobby is
hunting and fishing. At one time he was a member of 13 different lodges
and secret orders.
"I've got to go hunting," he said, reaohing for his hat. "There's
one thing you might tell them --I've never been drunk, and have never been
put in jail."