MULLEN BEAUTY SHOP

by Miss Luceil Boyer

Entry B11 from the History of Hooker County Nebraska
with permission of the Hooker County Historical Society

Luceil Boyer Mullen Beauty Shop 1949 Maude Nelson Apartments (now Gorsuch)

Luceil Boyer fixing Ruth Stoughton's hair - 1958

Mullen Woman Beating Handicap
              with Her Job

Life really began at forty for Luceil Boyer,
a 49 year old beauty operator in Mullen.
Because Luceil is a deaf mute; and she was
forty when she took up what has become a
successful and satisfying way of life for her.
She has done odd jobs after leaving school as
a girl - housekeeping, dishwashing, and
chambermaid work. It was enough to earn a
living, but prospects for the future weren't
too bright.
"I'd always liked to work on people's hair."
said Luceil - or rather, wrote in an interview.
"And when the beauty operator in Mullen
was in poor health, someone suggested I go
to school to study and be an operator." ln
February of 1949 she left for the beauty
school at Scottsbluff, Nebr. and received her
license the following October.

For nine years she has practiced in Mullen,
and the last few years has been the only
operator. But it wasn't easy for the Mullen
woman. She had her handicap and a little
public opinion to overcome. Her education
included only eight years of grade school, at
the Nebraska School for the Deaf in Omaha,
Nebr., and a few months learning cooking and
sewing at Mullen High School.

Luceil can't remember ever being able to
hear - scarlet fever at the age of nine months
caused total deafness. But her sharp eyes and
deft fingers have won her the admiration -
and the patronage - of Sandhills women.

One woman said at first she feared Luceil
might not be able to understand what she
wished - "but it's amazing what she can do."
Other comments from customers are: I
especially like her haircuts," and "I must like
her work - I wouldn't even attempt to put
up my own hair."

The customer at the Mullen Shop selects
her desired hairdo from a series of pictures,
and then Luceil takes over. Her numerous
"regulars" indicate the satisfaction she gives.

Equipped with a ready wit, Luceil likes to
tease customers with suggestions that they
try an "unusual new hairdo." She recalls one
who said, "If that's new, I want to be old-
fashioned."
Until recently, Luceil kept house for her
widowed father and two brothers. Since her
father's death she still keeps house for her
brothers.

It makes a busy schedule - but she finds
time for a hobby. "I'm always crocheting or
embroidering." she said. And she also drives
her own car and is active in the Women's
Society of Christian Science, Mission Com-
mission of the Methodist Church, and is
attending community shows, programs, and
concerts.

Yes, Luceil has attained a pretty rewarding
life, after a late start and despite a serious
handicap. She operated her beauty shop in
the old Evergreen hotel building for 26 years,
then in 1975, she moved to her home where
she continued her work. In 1982 she retired
after 33 years of beauty shop work under her
handicap. She and her brother Roy continue
to live in the Boyer home.