Many years ago there was a thriving Beauty College down town. It was run by a man named Frank Shultz who was a friend of my first husband. He was also a sponsor for AA, if that has any bearing. A very nice man. By the time I moved to Pueblo, my former husband had gone back to Western Kansas. Now the part that is relevant here is that my daughter Dona moved out here and wanted to go to beauty school. Of course she picked Center Beauty College since her dad recommended it because he was friends with Frank. So off she went.
Now I do not remember all about her schooling, but there came a time when I could help. That was in the form of being a "model." A model, in this case is someone who the student works on to hone thier skills. So I went once a week so she could work on my hair and nails. I got facials. Manicures. Pedicures. And free haircuts. I actually had well defined eyebrows. Life was good!
And. as with all good things, it came to an end. The end was when we loaded into the car and drove up to where the State Boards were to be held. Seems like it was in the 29th Street shopping center. All went well and in due time she received her license. I went back to being the good little housewife and bookkeeper. But I got bored and I received a call from the Beauty College. Seema a guy named Dana needed a model. So off I went. Dana was a very nice man and I began seeing him every week and then we went to State Boards. It went very well, and we parted ways. I went back to the home life. And then I received a phone call from the Beauty College and off I went again.
I am here to tell you, this one did not go well at all. I have blocked this boys name from my brain as the only means of survival. From the very first day that he shampooed my hair with water alternating from freezing cold to scalding hot, to the manicure that left me with bleeding cuticles, to the burn marks on my scalp line from the curling iron. It was not pretty and I did not have a good feeling about the upcoming boards, but a promise is a promise and off we went. The haircut was the only event that did not leave me bleeding or burned. The haircut involved removing at least one inch of hair and this particular haircut left me with no 2 hairs on my head the same length.
The permanent curler pulled every hair so tight I was worried my hair would leave my body. After that he needed to style my hair with the curling iron. More burn marks. The facial was almost more than I could endure, but we soon moved on to the "application of makeup and eye makeup." Oh dear God, let me forget! When I looked in the mirror and saw racoon eyes looking back, I nearly died. I have a light tan complexion, but he liked the really light make up so that is the route we went. I looked much like the Dracula victim after Dracula had drained her. The only color on my face was the black eyeliner, the black mascara, and a 3 x3 inch light green color on my top eyelid. His final act was to glue an artificial fingernail on my right index finger. He stood back and dutifully waited for the judge. I did my best not to scream from the pain of the burns on my scalp and to not burst into tears.
The judge started on my hair. She checked to make sure he had removed an inch at least. She checked my burn marks, noting that I might want to put something on them when I got home. She struggled to keep a straight face when she checked my makeup. I knew and she knew there was no way in the world this kid was going to pass. With a solemn face she told me to hold up the finger with the artificial nail. It chose at that exact moment to fall into my lap! She made her final notation and moved away.
Richard! (I just remembered his name!) Richard looked at me and said, "Well, I think that went really well! I would like to take you out to eat for being my model." Dear God in heaven would have struck me dead had I walked into a public place with the clown makeup on my face. I thanked him for the offer, but told him I really needed to get home as my husband would be waiting supper for me. (I did not tell him that Kenny was out of town, but there was no sense breaking his heart.) So we parted company and never seen him again. I did learn that he had failed his state boards and was not going to try again. Thank God!
Now I do not remember all about her schooling, but there came a time when I could help. That was in the form of being a "model." A model, in this case is someone who the student works on to hone thier skills. So I went once a week so she could work on my hair and nails. I got facials. Manicures. Pedicures. And free haircuts. I actually had well defined eyebrows. Life was good!
And. as with all good things, it came to an end. The end was when we loaded into the car and drove up to where the State Boards were to be held. Seems like it was in the 29th Street shopping center. All went well and in due time she received her license. I went back to being the good little housewife and bookkeeper. But I got bored and I received a call from the Beauty College. Seema a guy named Dana needed a model. So off I went. Dana was a very nice man and I began seeing him every week and then we went to State Boards. It went very well, and we parted ways. I went back to the home life. And then I received a phone call from the Beauty College and off I went again.
I am here to tell you, this one did not go well at all. I have blocked this boys name from my brain as the only means of survival. From the very first day that he shampooed my hair with water alternating from freezing cold to scalding hot, to the manicure that left me with bleeding cuticles, to the burn marks on my scalp line from the curling iron. It was not pretty and I did not have a good feeling about the upcoming boards, but a promise is a promise and off we went. The haircut was the only event that did not leave me bleeding or burned. The haircut involved removing at least one inch of hair and this particular haircut left me with no 2 hairs on my head the same length.
The permanent curler pulled every hair so tight I was worried my hair would leave my body. After that he needed to style my hair with the curling iron. More burn marks. The facial was almost more than I could endure, but we soon moved on to the "application of makeup and eye makeup." Oh dear God, let me forget! When I looked in the mirror and saw racoon eyes looking back, I nearly died. I have a light tan complexion, but he liked the really light make up so that is the route we went. I looked much like the Dracula victim after Dracula had drained her. The only color on my face was the black eyeliner, the black mascara, and a 3 x3 inch light green color on my top eyelid. His final act was to glue an artificial fingernail on my right index finger. He stood back and dutifully waited for the judge. I did my best not to scream from the pain of the burns on my scalp and to not burst into tears.
The judge started on my hair. She checked to make sure he had removed an inch at least. She checked my burn marks, noting that I might want to put something on them when I got home. She struggled to keep a straight face when she checked my makeup. I knew and she knew there was no way in the world this kid was going to pass. With a solemn face she told me to hold up the finger with the artificial nail. It chose at that exact moment to fall into my lap! She made her final notation and moved away.
Richard! (I just remembered his name!) Richard looked at me and said, "Well, I think that went really well! I would like to take you out to eat for being my model." Dear God in heaven would have struck me dead had I walked into a public place with the clown makeup on my face. I thanked him for the offer, but told him I really needed to get home as my husband would be waiting supper for me. (I did not tell him that Kenny was out of town, but there was no sense breaking his heart.) So we parted company and never seen him again. I did learn that he had failed his state boards and was not going to try again. Thank God!
I am not sure Center Beauty College is still in business. I do know Frank passed several years back, so I am assuming not. In the meantime, I just set here with my hair needing cut and hoping I can make a trip to Lakin where Dona Marie has her shop.
Life goes on!
