Barbers offer nostalgia with style

Blaine Burrell, Chris Banka and Chris Griffith do not fit the stereotype of the traditional barber.

All three are young and edgy-looking, with numerous tattoos. Indeed, the shop itself does not look traditional; vintage art adorns the walls and hip, contemporary music fills the space. But these three untraditional barbers are using their modern shop to embrace an old-fashioned style of barbering.

Burrell, 36, owner of Porter’s Barber Shop, had been cutting women’s hair for several years but eventually found he didn’t enjoy it.

“I realized that I didn’t have a passion for women’s hair,” he said.

He was intrigued by the romance of barbershops decades ago and decided to start his own shop where traditional barbershop practices and a strong relationship with the customer are crucial tenets. He was quickly joined by Griffith, 29, and soon after Banka, 35, and from there Porter’s Barber Shop took off.

Burrell describes his barbershop as a sort of union between “old school and new school,” meaning they are just as comfortable doing a flattop hairstyle as a faux-hawk or styling for 7-year-olds to 70-year-olds. Additionally, the shop offers unique old-fashioned services like a straight-edge shave with a hot towel.

“Face shaves and things like that bring back the romance of the barbershop,” Burrell said. “It’s important for us to do that.”

“It’s nostalgic,” Banka agreed.

The three barbers are trying to revive the style of barbering their grandfathers remember.

“A barbershop was a staple,” Griffith said. “I don’t want to see that disappear.”

The shop embraces the traditional role of a barbershop by striving to create a sort of forum among customers and barbers. The shop was specifically designed to be small, but not confining, to make it easier for customers to talk to one another or for a barber to talk to someone other than the customer he is with. The chairs in which customers wait to be seen are deliberately placed in front of the customers getting a haircut or a shave to encourage conversation. Music in the shop is audible, but never loud enough to drown out conversations.

Showcasing Rathdrum

It’s a rocky ride to start.

A 19-mile bike ride – most of that on logging roads around the backside of Rathdrum Mountain – then a 4.5-mile kayak from upper Twin Lake to Lower Twin followed by a 4.5-mile run back to Rathdrum.

Bike. Boat. Bolt.

That’s how Rathdrum Chamber of Commerce President Jeff Smith describes the first Rathdrum Mountain Adventure Race.

The Sept. 6 event isn’t so much a fundraiser for the chamber as it is an attempt to bring people into Rathdrum and see what the town and the surrounding area have to offer in businesses and beauty, Smith said.

“We want people from outside our community to come to our community and experience what’s here,” Smith said.

So far the race has drawn interest from as far away as Sacramento, and one racer from Omak, Wash., has already signed up.

Medals will be awarded to the top three finishers in each division: men, women and seniors.

Three-person teams also can sign up – men, women or coed. Entry fees are $25 for individuals and $50 for teams.

The race begins at 8 a.m. on Main Street downtown. The bike leg starts with four miles on pavement, then continues on dirt and logging roads with two three-mile climbs with a gain of 2,100 vertical feet.

Then it’s all downhill for the final eight miles to Upper Twin Lake for the kayak put-in.

The kayak race finishes at Twin Lakes Village beach, where the run begins.

The cross-country style run goes along a trail parallel to Highway 41 and ends at Rathdrum City Park where an awards ceremony will be held.

Dog park planned

Spokane parks officials and animal welfare advocates apparently have reached a milestone in their long effort to find a suitable place in the city for a dog park.

A section of High Bridge Park west of downtown has been chosen as the best place for the city to build its first park devoted to dogs and dog owners. Around the country, fenced dog parks have become a highly popular way for dogs and their owners to have fun and socialize.

The city Parks Department, Spokane Parks Foundation and SpokAnimal CARE are teaming up to develop the park. So far, the foundation has donated $12,000 to the cause, but donations are going to be sought to raise enough money for a quality facility, said Gail Mackie of SpokAnimal.

“Hopefully, people are going to get behind it and start making donations,” Mackie said.

A kickoff event and announcement of dog park plans is scheduled for Tuesday at 6:15 p.m. at Hillyard Pool in conjunction with the doggie dip event at the closing of the pool. The doggie dip is at 6:30 p.m.

City officials recently briefed members of the Spokane Park Board land committee on the proposed location for a dog park at Riverside Avenue and A Street, according to minutes of the meeting. Efforts to create a dog park in Spokane date back several years.

Mackie confirmed the proposed location, which has been used by park maintenance to store park waste materials. A section of the land was also used as a community garden at one time, she said.

If enough money can be raised, the park would include two fenced areas – one for small dogs and another for large dogs – plus other park amenities.