Air Force vet opens Jim Falls barbershop, learns trade from Navy vet grandfather

May 12—JIM FALLS — When Serryn Erickson opened her own barbershop in Jim Falls in April, she was carrying on a family tradition.

Erickson, a 41-year-old Air Force veteran, opened Crew Cuts on April 10 in Jim Falls.

Long before Erickson opened her business, her grandpa, Dean Witt, made a specialty of cutting hair for folks from all over the upper Midwest for nearly three decades.

Now Witt's granddaughter has taken up the trade, cutting hair for men in Jim Falls.

"During cosmetology school, my favorite portion was the male hair-cutting portion. So I knew that was something that I really enjoyed," Erickson said. "After I graduated, I went and worked at a place that only cut men's hair. So that's really all I've ever done."

Erickson got into the craft in large part because of her grandfather. Erickson displays her grandpa's old barber's tools proudly on the wall in her new barbershop.

"When I graduated from school, my grandpa gave me all of his old barber tools," she said. "So those are here on the wall. Those are the ones that he used."

Jim Falls is located on the Chippewa River northeast of Chippewa Falls. According to the U.S. Census, its population is 240.

Making a name for yourself isn't easy in such a small town, but business at the barbershop has been good, Erickson said.

"Every week I'm getting busier and busier. Definitely getting to the point where it's appointment-based," she said. "I just don't have time to cut their hair right now when they walk in."

Though retired from his tradecraft of barbering, Witt's relationship with his granddaughter is strong.

"Really, he's taught me not to take anything too seriously," Erickson said about her grandfather.

One thing that bonded Erickson and Witt is they both served in the U.S. military. That experience was the basis for the name of her business, Crew Cuts.

A crew cut is a type of haircut in which the upright hair on the top of the head is cut relatively short. The hair on the sides and back of the head is usually tapered shorter. It is a well known and identifiable haircut for U.S. military personnel.

Erickson served in the US Air Force from 1999 to 2003 and was stationed in Omaha, Nebraska.

Behind the sole barber chair in Crew Cuts hangs Erickson's Air Force boot camp picture as well as Witt's Navy picture from the 1950s.

Witt, 89, was in the U.S. Navy in the 1950s and served on the USS Oak Hill.

"It was the best four years of my life," Witt said.

When he finished his service he became a barber. And now his granddaughter has done the same; following in his footsteps.

Erickson said she began cutting hair at the age of 28, after she got out of the military.

Erickson plans to support to military groups with her business, and hopes veterans will visit her and feel appreciated at her new business.

"Being a vet myself, my grandfather being a vet — that is something that's really important to me," " she said. "I do want to be able to give back some of my profits to local veterans organizations."

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