Remembering the late Allen McClain
Written by Justin D. Lamb
Barbers Allen McClain (right) and Hugh Thompson (left) cut the hair of J.W. Lyles and Jack Henton in September 1949.
(Courtesy of Marshall County Genealogical Society)
When 24 year old Allen McClain started cutting hair on the court square in 1948, the world was a much different place. Incumbent President Harry S. Truman and his running mate Alben W. Barkley of Paducah were in the midst of whistle-stop tour across the nation that would ultimately lead to their “miracle come-from-behind” victory against Republican Thomas Dewey in the 1948 presidential election. A first class stamp cost 3 cents while a gallon of gas would only cost you 16 cents. Coach Adolph Rupp led his University of Kentucky Wildcats Men’s Basketball team to their first NCAA National Championship and the Cleveland Indians won the World Series against the Boston Braves. Starlets Ava Gardner and Lauren Bacall were lighting up the silver screen in theaters all across the nation and only one in ten Americans had ever seen a television set.
“A hair cut only cost around 16 cents when I started,” McClain said. “A lot of things sure have changed since I first started,” McClain reflected during his last day in the barber shop. After 66 years on the court square, McClain, now 90 years young, retired in December 2014 and an era in Marshall County has ended. “It has been great to serve the customers through the years,” McClain said.
When McClain first began, barber shops were the center of life in many small communities. It was a place where men would learn the latest news and to talk sports, hunting, and politics. Men would gather in the high backed chairs or around a checker board to catch up on the latest gossip and news of the day.
After completing barber school in Memphis, Tennessee, McClain came to work with Hugh Thompson and Charlie Hamilton at the Benton Barbershop in October 1948. Hamilton soon left for a barbershop on 2nd Street in Paducah leaving McClain and Thompson as the two barbers. The two would cut hair side by side for the next several years. Thompson passed away in 1982 leaving McClain as the sole barber.
With his shop in close proximity to the courthouse, McClain cut the hair of some of Marshall County’s most prominent leaders throughout the years including H.H. Lovett, Lomond Trevathan, John Rayburn, Toad Brien, and Mike Miller. “A lot of my customers come from the court square,” McClain said.
Sadly, Allen McClain passed away on August 31, 2018 and Marshall County has lost one its finest citizens. In addition to his long barbering career, McClain was an avid bird hunter and was a veteran of World War II. He was a Mason for 68 years and served on the Benton City Council where he was instrumental in bringing natural gas to the city of Benton.