Dentist and Barber Shop
by Lynn Sprowl
Title
Dentist and Barber Shop
Artist
Lynn Sprowl
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
Dentist and Barber Shop by Lynn Sprowl.
The barber shop was where “the action was” on Saturday night. The miners would come into town, dirty from the mines, displaying shaggy hair and whiskers. They were a rough-looking bunch. Their first stop was the barber shop to get a shave, haircut, and a much needed hot bath. This was the place “the boys met,” to get spruced up for a night on the town. Pulling teeth was done with a “turn-key”, actually a doctor’s tool, and was an extremely painful way to extract teeth. The patient was given no anesthetic. No wonder it was common practice for those people with a toothache to fortify themselves with a stiff drink of whiskey, before having the “Doc” work on their teeth. In many of the mining camps, the patient brought his own gold or silver to the doctor for filling his teeth. A very convenient arrangement! Fortunately, the dental profession has made great strides since the 1800’s.
The building was constructed in Fairplay in the early 1870’s and relocated in 1960.
Uploaded
October 22nd, 2018
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