Barber Shop
The Ship had six barbers and two barbershops: this one for enlisted men and one in the forward part of the Ship for officers.
The Supply Department oversaw the barber shops whose hours were 8:00 - 11:30am and 1:00 - 4:00pm, Monday through Saturday, and senior officers by appointment.
The following operating rules are from Organization & Regulations U.S.S. NORTH CAROLINA:
(c) Barber Shop:
(1) Barber service will be free and will be limited to haircuts. Tonics, shaves, etc., will not be given except by special order of the Ship’s Store Officer.
(2) The following procedure will be followed for getting haircuts. Barber tags will be given to each division, 2 to large divisions and 1 to small divisions. The Division Police Petty Officers will issue these tags to men needing or desiring haircuts. The man will then go to the Barber Shop and await his turn in line. When finished he will turn the tag over to the next man or to the P. P. O. as directed by his Division Officer. No man will be served without one of these tags.
(3) It shall be a Chief Petty Officer’s privilege to go to the head of the line and take the next vacancy of the barber whom he wishes to cut his hair.
(4) The Officer’s Barber Shop shall render service to Warrant Officers and Commissioned Officers. Officers of the rank of Lieut. Commander or senior may be accommodated by appointment.
"There was a 6-chair shop for enlisted and a separate shop for officers. You had to pay for haircuts. Each division had several brass medallions with the division number or letter. The number of medallions was based on the size of your division. This way, the entire division couldn’t swamp the shop at one time. The first class petty officer would set up a relay. Hair had to be kept short due to wearing gas masks. It was also easier to keep clean. At first, they did not allow beards or moustaches, but later in the war they allowed both within limits."
- Paul A. Wieser
