Barber to close after 58 years

Down in Montegut, a man has been cutting hair for nearly 58 years.

Gilbert Talbot was born Aug. 13, 1931, in Morgan City, opened Gib’s Barber Shop Sept. 15, 1952, and in September, he will close down shop for the final time.

He said he has cut for seven generations of families, and rare occasions present Talbot with the opportunity to introduce strangers as relatives.

“I’ve known so many people and dealt with so many of the same people,” he said. “It’s not like in Houma, where you get customers today you might not ever see again. So I’ve got the ability to look at someone and tell what family they belong to because genes follow a line.”

The blue, shack-like shop with a tin roof he works from houses one chair for the customer, a handful of folding chairs for the spectators, a canister of gumballs for the children and historic memorabilia for the interested.

Walk in the door and turn right to see a copy of the first map of the Louisiana coast. Just to the right of the map is a framed straight razor that Talbot estimates to be 94 years old. Look down and see a newspaper clipping from 1906. Turn around and take six or seven steps across the white-tiled floor to see a photo of the 79-year-old barber’s great-great-grandfather.

“I’m a fanatic for history,” Talbot said, and he means it.

His eyes widen when he talks about the settlement of southern Louisiana towns, or when he was sent for cigarettes and candy for the German prisoners in Montegut during World War II.

Hugh Lebeouf walks into the shop Thursday afternoon for a trim. Born and raised in Montegut and now living in Thibodaux, the 65-year-old man said he’s known Talbot for 60 years. Before he sits in the leather chair, they reminisce about their youth.

“You remember that time my dad brought out the two-by-four when he caught me playing cards?” Lebeouf asked.

Do you remember that time? Talbot, as a barber and community activist for 57 years, has many memories, good and bad from his time in Montegut. He’s forged friendships with his patrons and helped protect them from greedy politicians. But now, the time has come to relocate, and with it comes retirement.

“I’ve flooded three times [in Montegut],” Talbot said of his looming retirement. “It’s time to get out. My wife is 77-and-a-half, and if I leave this earth, I’d hate to see her fight.

“I enjoyed working with the people, I’ve made a lot of good friends and I want to thank the people for giving me a wonderful life. And I hope the good Lord blesses them all.”

“Gib” and his wife will move to an apartment in Houma. In their line of sight: Main Street, the Government Towers, the post office and St. Francis church, which is fitting considering the 79-year-old barber has played the watch-dog role since he opened the shop.

He helped block the construction of two ship channels in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He fought local politicians, convinced a translator with an opposing viewpoint to write a petition in Cajun French and gave south Louisiana a voice in Washington, D.C.

Beloved by all, right?

“I was no good,” he said. “I was trash because [the politicians] wanted that ship channel.

“Whatever I am accused of by the people that don’t like me, I always did it on behalf of the community, to help the community. Nothing went into my pocket.”

To this day, he remains involved in the community. Talbot is a 14-year member of the Terrebonne Parish Levee Board and said he thinks parish President Michel Claudet has plans for him post-retirement.

“When you’re talking about an area on the lower portion of Terrebonne – and I know the upper portion because I’ve read or rode or walked every bit of it – I know it,” Talbot said. “I’ve seen that land disappear.”

But before he transitions into the next stage of his life, Talbot plans to keep the barbershop open until at least Sept. 15, his arthritis willing. He can sit and walk, he said, but the standing, and therefore cutting, takes a toll on his right leg.

The dwindling barbershop community will lose another one. Hair salons are increasingly becoming more efficient and commercialized. Get in and get out, there is no time to stop and chat.

Talbot attributes the demise of the classic barbershop, where friends can gossip for hours, to the lack of young male barbers, and he said some of his clientele are worried about moving on to another shop.

“Who’s hurt is the people that don’t care to let a woman cut their hair,” Talbot said. “And so many of them is appointments. You have to make an appointment. That’s what they hate.”

When Lebeouf walked into Gib’s Barbershop Thursday afternoon, someone was already in the chair.

Kenneth Hebert can’t remember how long Talbot has been cutting his hair and trimming his goatee, but it’s been a long time, he said. That much is clear, as Gib not only serves as his barber, but as his confidant.

As Talbot is finishing up, Hebert tells how his planned trip to Mississippi was cancelled because of family medical problems, something he explains without hesitation. It’s easy to tell he’s done this before, and it’s safe to say he’s not the only one to confide in Gib.

Hebert stands up, pays for the service and asks his final question.

“When are you shutting it down?”

Talbot tells him he will at least make it to Sept. 15, but he’d like to finish the month. It takes him a couple of seconds to process the news.

“Well, I guess this is the last time you’ll cut my hair.”

Montegut barber Gilber Talbot shows off his collection of photos, which include seven generations of family. Talbot, 79, will retire next month after running Gib’s Barbershop for 58 years. ERIC BESSON