Created: 11/18/2009 11:55:09 PM 
KINGSLAND, Ga. -- At 86-years-old, Claude Strickland is proving that it's never to late to look for a new business opportunity.
On North Lee Street in downtown Kingsland, Georgia, a red, white and blue barber's pole spins outside a storefront.
"I don't remember the year, but I bought it in the 1950s," said Claude Strickland.
The longtime Kingsland resident opened Strickland's Barber Shop Tuesday, but he's been in the business of cutting hair since he was a teenager.
"I was assigned to do it in the Navy, and I liked it, so I decided to come out and be a barber," Strickland said.
In 1949, he opened his first shop in Kingsland inside the former Camden Hotel, which the city later bought and turned into City Hall.
From the late 1950s forward, Strickland cut hair out of his home.
Recently, though, he says his business began to dwindle.
"I didn't have that many people coming to the house. So many died, passed away. I thought, if I come back up here, I could make some new friends and help some new people with their hair," Strickland said.
When the owner of 121 N. Lee Street Suite B offered him a great deal on the space, Strickland took it.
Now, with his two antique barber's chairs, refurbished pole, and gracious personality, he treats clients to an old-fashioned hair cut once again.
"You can't be too successful without being willing to work hard. I don't have any idea of quitting until I can't work any longer," he said.
In the 1950s, his haircuts cost $.50. Today, he charges $10. While Strickland's clientele may be new, his philosophy is classic: work hard and give to others.
Strickland says he's already made a comfortable living, but he chooses to continue to work so his grand children will have a little extra money for college.
"What I make today, I don't keep. I give it to my wife and granddaughters," Strickland said.
He hopes his new move to the heart of the small town will allow him to work for years to come.
"I've always worked, and I just felt, this way I could drum up new business again," he smiled.
Strickland's Barber Shop is open Tuesday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
It is located at 121 N. Lee Street, Ste B, Kingsland, Georgia.
(912) 729-5336
