Hats off to the new barber

You can call me Al Master Barber Al Rossi receives the keys to Town & Country Barber Shop from Milt Pitty. Pitty sold his business to Rossi due to what they referred to as a meeting of fate. "It's the right time and the right person," Pitty claimed confidently. Comet photo by Kevin Schnepp

By Kevin Schnepp

During the past 33 years, a myriad of heads sat before Milt Pitty and his shears at Town & Country Barber Shop behind Brosman's IGA in Delphi.

Having kept the shop open on a limited basis during the past year and a half while battling lung cancer and side-effects from treatment, Pitty sold the business to Master Barber Al Rossi.

"Now it's time to move on," Pitty stated.

Reflecting on how he had not simply quit outright when pain from radiation treatment hit hard, Pitty said he now knows why he kept at it.

"I loved what I did and very much enjoyed talking with people and helping them out," Pitty commented.

Pitty opened for business in June of 1973 after sharing with Don Brosman the idea of placing a barber shop in the Brosman Family Center.

For many years Pitty could be seen at the Delphi, Flora and St. Elizabeth nursing homes visiting residents and cutting hair. He made many trips to Carroll County Jail to cut detainees' hair. Whenever the need arose, he visited the sick and shut-in in the area to primp and perk them up.

The difficult decision to close his doors became more apparent when his right arm became paralyzed by radiation treatment.

At the same time Pitty was contemplating decisions for his shop, Rossi was running a barber shop in Munster but looking for a change.

"I had heard some good things about Delphi from Bruce Schooler," Rossi said. Schooler, a former Delphi resident, now lives in Schererville and visited Rossi's shop.

Rossi, 32, has 14 years experience as a barber. He became Master Barber through a barber college in Chicago before opening his shop in Munster.

"I had four barbers with me at my shop. Business was good, but the stress was high," Rossi said. "My wife and I were starting to wonder where we could go to find a quieter, friendlier area to raise our family."

Rossi called a Monticello real estate agent to see if any barber shops were for sale in the area. Although Pitty's establishment was only closed temporarily, Rossi said the agent told him he thought it might be for sale.

"We had plans to go to Indiana Beach for the weekend and I decided to check out Delphi and the barber shop while down this way," Rossi continued. "I immediately loved the place. The shop, the town, meeting Milt. It was exactly what we were envisioning."

When Pitty and Rossi met, they conversed about their paths leading up to that point and about what options it provided.

Both men said they saw the deal as an opportunity.

"Many questions were answered by how this played out," Pitty said. "I felt a burden lifted knowing I could rest easier and the shop would stay open." After introductions and explanations between he and Pitty, Rossi said he,

his wife Denise and their two children found themselves settling in to a new home and business within a week.

"We're looking forward to meeting people and enjoying what the area has to offer," Rossi exclaimed.

When asked how he thought the shop would do for him, Rossi replied, "Milt is a very good man and it will be hard to fill his shoes, but I do know he had loyal customers who knew what they were getting and liked it."

"Many these days don't understand what barbers can do and how cheap they are," he continued.

"I'm looking forward to carrying on the tradition as best I can."