La Salle legend dies after 82 years of cutting hair

By Liz Wagner
Collegian Editor
March 19, 2008

Pete Paranzino, known to La Salle as Pete the Barber, died in his sleep March 7 at the age of 94. Paranzino spent 67 years up to this past semester as the on-campus barber for La Salle faculty, namely the Christian Brothers, and students.

“Pete was a part of La Salle’s history and culture,” President Brother Michael McGinniss said. “He was consistently respected as a gentleman and a man of faith.”

Paranzino’s affinity for the Christian Brothers began at an early age. After his father’s death, Paranzino, the oldest of five, left school and became apprenticed to his uncle in his North Philly barbershop. He was 12 years old at the time.

The shop was in close proximity to several Christian Brothers schools, and many brothers came in regularly to get their hair cut. Jesuits from St. Joe’s Prep also frequented the shop, but Paranzino retained a more long-standing relationship with the Brothers. When Paranzino became old enough, he would go to the Brothers’ residence on North Broad Street to cut hair.

In 1939, Paranzino opened his own barber shop at La Salle in the basement of McShain Hall. Brothers and students could get a haircut for 50 cents. Though the prices raised throughout the years to about $7, Paranzino was never out of work. Christian Brothers and other faculty continued to frequent his shop, aswell as current students and many alumni.

One such alum, John McCloskey, began getting his hair cut by Paranzino as a freshman in 1946 and continued to do so for over 50 years, according to La Salle archives. On Paranzino’s 80th birthday, John even wrote a poem for Paranzino about his time here. “Pete’s a perennial explorer,” reads the poem, “whose first love is La Salle.”

Paranzino became a jack-of-all-trades during his time at La Salle. When business was slow due to lack of students on campus during World War II, Paranzino worked part-time in a post office. After the war, La Salle experienced a massive influx of students returning to school, and Paranzino started to sell sandwiches in his shop to compensate for the overcrowded dining halls. At one point he even had an electric hot dog cooker down in the shop, but the electricity needed to run it sometimes shorted out the power in the basement of McShain.

Paranzino’s fervor for La Salle was always evident. He sold La Salle shirts and jackets in his shop, and both his son Dominic and granddaughter Christina came to college at the university.

History professor John Rossi attested to Paranzino’s Lasallian virtue, as well as his faith. “Pete cut my hair for 30 years or so,” he said. “He was a kind, pleasant man who loved La Salle. When he walked across the campus on his way to work, he always said the rosary.”

Over the years, Paranzino’s story captured the interest of many in the Philadelphia area. During Paranzino’s time at La Salle, he was featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Chestnut Hill Local, the Philadelphia Daily News, and even Channel 6, not to mention the various La Salle publications he frequently graced the pages of.

“I read about and archive [La Salle history,],” said Brother Joe Grabenstein of the La Salle archives, “but Pete lived all that. He was a living legend.”

wagnere1@lasalle.edu