N.B. village barber keeps cutting: 'I wouldn't want to live anywhere else'
N.B. village barber keeps cutting: 'I wouldn't want to live anywhere else'
If you live in or near the village of Petitcodiac, New Brunswick you probably know who 'Stu the Barber' is and chances are, he's given you a haircut.
Stu Lutes has been cutting hair for 58 years.
The soon to be 87-year-old works three days a week at Stu's Barber Shop in the heart of the village of around 1,500 people.
There's a simple reason for what motivates him to keep doing it.
“Making money,” laughed Stu. “That's what really does. No, I just like to meet people and talk to them. Everybody.”
His wife Glendine said he loves to cut hair.
“He would go crazy if he sat at home everyday,” said Glendine. “He loves talking to people. He would be very bored if he wasn't here.”
He’s well known in the community he loves. The Boston Bruins super fan loves to chat about hockey with the local kids and enjoys watching games at the village arena.
"The kids love to come in and talk hockey," said Stu. "I go to a lot of their games too."
Family friend Colleen Bannister called Stu very personable with everyone, especially the kids.
“The kids love him. They all know Stu," said Colleen. "They'll razz Stu about being a Boston fan or he'll razz them about being another fan. I've heard them say, 'can you come over to my game Stu, I'm going to play tonight,' and he goes."
He also supports the community he lives in. The avid golfer is a volunteer with the Petitcodiac Kiwanis Club and Saint Andrew’s Anglican Church.
On his off days off, Stu gives haircuts to residents in nursing homes in the area.
Father Chris Hayes of the Anglican Church said he’s more than just a pillar in the community.
“He's one of those people who have been around. He's living history. He's also one of those guys who's present and he's not just representing a certain time. He's connected. Whether it's the Kiwanis Club, the church, a rink rat, he's around everywhere,” said Father Chris.
Stu thinks Petitcodiac is the best community in the world.
“I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. Ever,” said Stu. "Everybody comes in. I know them and they know me.”
The big question is just when the 86-year-old will hang up his scissors and clippers and retire.
Glendine said he thinks someone will have to carry him out of the shop kicking and screaming.
“So, I guess he doesn't plan on retiring unless he has to,” said Glendine.
Colleen doesn’t think it will ever happen.
“I don't know,” said Colleen. “What would Petitcodiac be without Stu's Barber shop?”
Stu’s fellow Kiwanis member Charlie Howatt doesn’t know either.
“I’ve been a customer of his for over 50 years. Ever since he started really. It’s a community business. I grew up in this community and I firmly believe in supporting the community. Plus, the fact that his prices are quite reasonable,” said Charlie. “He can go as long as his legs hold up for him.”
Stu doesn’t think he’ll be retiring until he’s in his 90s.
“I want to get up with Charlie,” said Stu. “He's going to be 94 so I want to be up with him someday.”
Still a few years if you want to pay a visit to Stu's Barber Shop.
Four children were killed and one man is missing after they were swept away by the tide while fishing in Portneuf-sur-Mer, a riverside community in Quebec's Côte-Nord region.
The U.S. Ambassador to Canada says America 'absolutely wants to have it both ways' when it comes to fighting climate change while pursuing fossil fuel projects.
New study finds increase in antipsychotic drugs use in long-term care homes across Canada, despite no significant increase in behavioural symptoms – something that may expose a potential area of concern for quality of care, researchers say.
Pope Francis warned the Vatican's missionary fundraisers on Saturday not to allow financial corruption to creep into their work, insisting that spirituality and spreading the Gospel must drive their operations, not mere entrepreneurship.
Canada is open to the idea of including a requirement to cut back on the production of plastic in a new global treaty to eliminate plastic pollution, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said Friday.
Photos released by NASA taken from International Space Station show the immense scale of the wildfires in Nova Scotia, with billowing smoke engulfing the landscape.
Toronto police say the five suspects involved in a stabbing at Kennedy Station Friday night that left a man in critical condition are between the ages of 12 and 15 years old.
It's the start of a new season at Moraine Lake and for the first time, you will have to take a shuttle bus to access the famous landmark -- no matter how early you're willing to show up.
Four children were killed and one man is missing after they were swept away by the tide while fishing in Portneuf-sur-Mer, a riverside community in Quebec's Côte-Nord region.
Police are investigating the "suspicious death" of a man discovered shot dead in downtown Montreal Saturday. According to the SPVM, a man was found around 7:50 a.m. inside an apartment on Saint-Catherine and Beaudry Streets, in Montreal's Gay Village.
Four children were killed and one man is missing after they were swept away by the tide while fishing in Portneuf-sur-Mer, a riverside community in Quebec's Côte-Nord region.
A Sudbury teacher accused of having sex with a student has been found guilty of professional misconduct by the discipline committee of the Ontario College of Teachers.
A Dunville, Ont. man is facing charges after he allegedly exposed his genitals to minors in a change room and committed voyeurism, police in Owen Sound said on Friday.
With two Federal by-elections around the corner in Manitoba, party leaders hit the campaign trail to appeal to voters in Portage-Lisgar and Winnipeg South Centre.
Four children were killed and one man is missing after they were swept away by the tide while fishing in Portneuf-sur-Mer, a riverside community in Quebec's Côte-Nord region.
The City of Regina has a three-phase approach to address the flooding that occurs at the downtown underpasses during most heavy rainfalls, including Thursday night’s storm.
Photos released by NASA taken from International Space Station show the immense scale of the wildfires in Nova Scotia, with billowing smoke engulfing the landscape.
A wildfire burning out of control on northern Vancouver Island is now estimated to cover 208 hectares, or just over two square kilometres, provincial wildfire officials said Friday.
A 38-year-old sergeant in the Canadian Army was fined $3,000 and issued a severe reprimand after he made what a military judge described as 'utterly disgusting' anti-Jewish comments while conducting an infantry training course in 2021.
