“Skinny” opened his barber shop establishment in the 1920’s on the ground level of 236 East Davis Street and remained in the same location until his death in 1958. Barber shops in Culpeper closed half a day on Wednesdays each week during this era.
1898
- Mr. Love was born July 31, 1898, in Culpeper to John and Mary Bundy Love.
1921
- He married Gladys Louise Gordon of Rappahannock county, Virginia on February 23, 1921. They were the parents of four sons and five daughters.
- Due to segregation, it was a common practice for black barbers to choose either black or white clientele. Love’s clients were white; however, his shop served black clients after regular business hours.
- His older brother, Harry Love, was the proprietor of a local pool room located in this area during the 1920’s.
- He was a pitcher for the local-colored baseball team. His son George, played for the black Culpeper Dragons baseball team in the 1950’s and was a major league prospect. George successfully tried out for the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, he soon returned home to Culpeper due to the negative pressures of early integration in the major leagues.
1940
- The Love family rented their home in the 100 hundred block of Locust Street (at South West Street near Antioch) in the “Sugar Bottom” neighborhood in the 1930’s. By 1940, the family moved to the 1100 block of South West Street at the corner of Elm Street. After Skinny Love’s death in 1958, the family moved a few blocks away to Wolford Street, at the corner of Orange Road beside Gerard Jennings’ home in town.
- The Love family’s Locust Street home no longer exists. It is now part of a parking lot on that street. The home in the 1100 block of South West Street remains.
1958
- Mr. Love died May 21, 1958, at his Culpeper home. He is buried beside his wife, Gladys in Fairview Cemetery. Gladys Love died on November 5, 1991.
Skinny Love’s Barber Shop
Skinny Love’s Barber Shop was located at 236 East Davis Street. The current owner is Miranda Ventures, LLC. La Bee da Loca, a local small business, operates in this space on both the ground and upper levels.
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