NATCHEZ — When you walk through the door of Ebony’s Barber Shop you’re greeted as if you are walking into someone’s home.

“How you doing?” a kind voice speaks out from the back, “Have a seat, someone will be right with you.”

The voice is the shop owner Robert White and for more than 20 years this has been his home away from home.

Located at 6B Saint Catherine Street White has seen styles come and go. “Sometimes the names change but afros, cojacks, flat tops, they just come back around in a cycle.”

“And the people don’t change either” White explains, “some of my barbers came here as babies.”

Brian Johnson a barber at Ebony’s for four years added, “I got my first hair cut here.”

“I’ve spent a lot of time with the little ones, first timers” said White, “more than I can remember”.”

“I’ve spent more time here than I have left and after so long you don’t consider yourself working but rendering a service,” White says. “It’s the people that I serve that are most important to me.”

“After so much work you get aches and pains and don’t want to come to work but when you are serving people you know it’s less of a chore.” said White. “When you’re serving, you do all that you can to satisfy, but when you’re working you do just enough to get by.”

“I don’t think they’ll ever invent a machine to cut a man’s hair like he wants it, so I look forward to seeing some of my barbers establish their own businesses.”

When asked did he think he’d ever quit the business White answered “No” not to serving at least, then added, “In the end the Lord will be looking for folks who live to serve.”