Barber shop expands with the addition of Hrobak

By Erin Brodbeck
Collegian Editor
August 29, 2007

Students looking for a quick new hairdo will be offered new services this fall following some changes to Pete Paranzino’s campus barber shop.

Pete the Barber has been at La Salle legend since he began trimming the locks of students and staff in 1931. Now, at the age of 94, Pete is semi-retired from his post as resident hair expert and will be sharing his shop in the Union with Jennie Hrobak, 20, a neighbor and family friend of the Parazinos.

Pete will still be seen around campus, but the shop will now be called “Pete’s Barber Shop and Jennie’s Beauty Salon.”

“He could use some help in the shop, but he’ll be the old master teaching someone new,” said Pete’s son, Domenic Paranzino.

Pete’s most frequent customers throughout his long career at La Salle were Brothers who have been coming to him for years, Paranzino said. At the end of last year, Pete cut about five to seven heads of hair a day, a significant decline from the heyday of the 1960s and ‘70s when he was shuttled back and forth between La Salle College and La Salle High School to trim the Brothers’ hair.

Paranzino remembers watching his father work when he was a kid, and has seen the student population change, requiring a different kind of campus barber shop.

Pete cut back on his hours during the Spring 2007 semester, coming in to cut hair about twice a week, Paranzino said. Now, Pete wants to offer services that cater to the female population of La Salle, and handpicked Hrobak for the job.

“Jennie can do girls’ and guys’ hair,” Paranzino said.

Hrobek will be offering cuts, shampoos and blowdrys in addition to eyebrow waxing so girls don’t have to wander off campus. She’s also thinking about offering highlighting and coloring in the future.

“I’m really excited about this; it’s a great opportunity,” Hrobak said. “It’s a good service for girls, especially since La Salle isn’t in the best area.”

Hrobak has also gotten Pete’s expert seal of approval.

“She’s a good haircutter,” he said.

Hrobak isn’t the first assistant Pete has hired in recent years. In 2005, a woman set up equipment in the barber shop, but only remained for a few months. Pete and his son are counting on Hrobak to devote her time to keeping La Salle’s campus free of dead ends and overgrown bangs, even though it may take some time for her to gain steady customers.

Although Pete’s haircut is a bargain at $7 a pop, Hrobak might be charging a bit more, but prices haven’t been established yet. Paranzino thinks students will benefit from staying on campus to meet their hairstyling needs instead of wandering some of the potentially dangerous surrounding areas.

“You don’t want kids to go places where it’s not safe,” he said

There’s no official word on when Hrobak’s part of the shop will be up and running, but Paranzino said she’s been on campus to set up her equipment, and should be getting started within the next few weeks.

The Paranzino’s are hoping that changing the barber shop with the times will keep Pete’s legacy on campus. His presence over the years has made him a human encyclopedia of La Salle, Paranzino said.

“If you want to know something about La Salle, just ask Pete.”

brodbecke1@lasalle.edu