Northeast Portland's Hometown Barber
March 9, 2001—Several weeks ago James Brown's longtime saxophonist Maceo Parker was in town for a concert at the Crystal Ballroom. After a night of jazz and funk--and with the tour heading next for Japan--Parker decided it was time for a haircut.
There were countless salons and barbershops within a few blocks of Parker's downtown hotel, but after asking around for the best place to get a haircut, the legendary musician found himself on the No. 6 bus to Northeast Portland--and an appointment at Geneva's Shear Perfection.
"It just happens this way," says Paul Knauls, who started the barber shop and salon with his wife Geneva 10 years ago this spring. "We're very fortunate."
Of course luck tends to be good when you put in more than a half-century of hard work. At 70, Knauls still works at his shop and around the community for the better part of seven days a week. And this prosperous entrepreneur is not too proud to shine shoes and sweep the parking lot.
"My father has been that way for as long as I can remember," says Knauls' son Paul Jr., who also works at Geneva's. "He's probably got the blood pressure of a 15-year-old kid."
Originally from Arkansas, Knauls entered the military in 1948 and, on the eve of its desegregation, was transferred to Fairchild Air Base in Spokane--the first African-American ever to be stationed there. As if that challenge weren't enough, Knauls began washing dishes at a local hotel on evenings and weekends. "A black man had never stayed there," recalled Knauls, "but I wanted to be in business for myself, and I had to learn how it was done."
For the next 12 years, Knauls continued to work two jobs and save his money. In 1963, after a visit to Oregon, he finally got his wish, buying the popular Cotton Club in North Portland.
"People said if you came to Portland, and you didn't come to my Cotton Club, then you hadn't really been to Portland," he recalled with a smile. Each night Knauls would take the mike and close with the club's motto: It's the only nightclub on the West Coast with wall-to-wall soul. Today Geneva's is festooned with photos of celebrities who visited the Cotton Club: Sammy Davis Jr., Joe Louis, Cab Calloway and many more.
Despite the glamour and prosperity it brought, Knauls' favorite moment as a nightclub owner came the day he was introduced to a barber named Geneva Carter. "She came down to the club, and the rest is history," Knauls says. "Now we've been married 35 years."
And it was his wife's longtime experience in salons that gave birth to their next business venture, the beauty shop that still bears her name. "She said, `Work all day with you? Oh my God,'" laughed Knauls. "She didn't think it would work."
Still, Knauls says his wife has always been the lifeblood of Geneva's Shear Perfection. "Your wife is very seldom wrong," says Knauls. "More men should abandon that macho stuff and watch them prove it."
At 65, Mrs. Knauls is, like her husband, content to keep working in lieu of retirement. "I don't see her hanging up the clippers anytime soon," says her son Paul Jr. "If you like what you do, you're going to keep getting up and going to work."
As Northeast Portland's economic fortunes have risen and gentrification ensued, Knauls--a longtime board member for the Urban League of Portland--sees it as, "... a good and a bad thing. You want to live where your people are, and this is traditionally an African-American neighborhood. If I came to town today, I could not afford to buy my house like we did back in 1965. But there used to be a crack house on every block, and now those homes are owned by people who want to take care of their community."
Geneva's also is known as more than a place to get your hair cut. "Next to the church, I think the barber shop is one of the most revered places in the African-American community," says Knauls. "This is where the guys meet, this is where they talk and all the gossip goes around. Lots of kidding around, laughter and camaraderie." Geneva's employees also help customers find everything from jobs and housing to a dry cleaner and a place to see a show.
"It just really does me good when somebody new comes to town and I can help them," says Knauls.
Of course, being black in Portland has never been without its challenges, but Knauls and his family take it in stride. "Racism is still alive and well," says Knauls, who says he still faces occasional discrimination. "But I believe now we're on the right track, I really do."
"It's an issue we know is always going to be there," agreed the younger Knauls. "But there's always been a silver lining in that cloud. As long as in your heart you know what's really going on, then you're going to be all right."
As Northeast Portland continues to flourish amidst a rising tide of immigrants of all colors, chances are Geneva's Shear Perfection will remain ground zero for haircuts, fellowship and fun. "It's a good life," says the elder Knauls, sitting back in his chair. "In fact, it's unbelievable."