Meet Nick the Barber

His real name is Gary Nikell and he cuts hair in Burien. He used to cut hair in White Center. His grandfather was a barber and his Dad was a barber. No matter how you cut it there must be something hereditary here.

I asked him if he ever tried anything else and he said, "I grew up in a small town in Montana and my dad owned a barber shop, restaurant, tavern, bowling alley and gas station all in one. He had the only game in town. When he died I took the whole thing over. I was only 18 and got tired of it. Too much work. I wanted to have some fun. I sold the whole schmeer."

Meet Dick Dahlgard

Nah, unless you have only lived here a short time you have to know him. He owned Dick's Camera Shop in Burien for half a century until he sold it last year and moved away to retire.

He couldn't stand not be needed and is back home. Maybe it was all his friends at Burien Rotary Club, where he has never missed a meeting in his lifetime unless he was out of town and had to make up wherever he was traveling.

He must hold the world's record for attendance.

We saw him at the barber shop in Burien where Nick charges him twice as much as me because he has a huge leonine head.

Meet Jim Deuchler

I met him at Nick's Barber Shop in Burien this week. I hadn't seen him in 37 years.

Retired bartender extraordinaire, he once made the triple martini famous at the Epicure restaurant in White Center. .

Jim worked in the bar alongside world middleweight prizefighter Al Hostel. They were a one-two combination punch.

The best place to eat in the south end, the Epicure was owned by Joe Boothby. He sold it to Jim Willis who hired my wife, Elsbeth

Elsbeth McDaniel worked as the most popular waitress in the late fifties and sixties until I married her. My deceased wife Lee left me with five sons, all of whom loved the great Juicy Ray rare beef sandwich-an Epicure specialty.

Elsbeth was raising three children. That made eight. That was enough.

"The Epicure was a wonderful place in those days" Jim reminisced. "It brought hundreds of visitors to White Center.

"I met Andy Hess, Curly Witherbee, Gordon Herr, Governor Rosellini, Brock Adams and Ed Munro. Ed used to drop by for a single malt on his way home to Seahurst."

"Bill Herr, he owned the lumber company, used to eat at the Epicure with about five guys every day.

"They named a Burien park after Ed Munro. Quite a guy. Good man.

"I got my haircut from Nick when he was in White Center," he said as he went out the door. "He does a good job."