Patty Stuckey was in her mid-thirties when she made a decision that would change the course of her life. But that decision also came out of great necessity.

At the time, Stuckey was a single mom supporting a family and working at a local factory. She was dating her future husband when his mother made a suggestion on a new career path that might be perfect for Stuckey and one that she herself had spent decades doing in Galva. Patty should consider becoming a barber, she told her.

Stuckey said the idea had great appeal.

“It beat factory work, that’s for sure,” said Stuckey, while seated in one of the many chairs that line the wall of her barbershop’s reception area. “She was telling me it was good money, a clean environment.”

And her future mother-in-law saw another trait that Stuckey possessed that might help her to succeed- the gift of gab.

A layoff from the factory forced her hand and taking the advice, she enrolled at the Peoria Barber College. Getting her license took just 10 months.

“When I first got out, there was a barber in Henry. She needed someone because she was out for surgery for months.”

So Stuckey went to work for three months. “That was my practice,” she said.

Stuckey remembered when she first decided to open her shop, she had big ideas and shared them with her husband.

“When I first opened, I told my husband I was going to do free coffee and appointments. My husband said, ‘don’t do it because men hate appointments and if you give out free coffee they’d be sitting around drinking coffee all day,’” said Stuckey.

The Stuckeys had the barbershop built on a lot at 550 Commercial St. The interior work was finished by her husband, she said. The barber chair and the large mirror in the shop came from her mother-in-law’s Galva shop and Stuckey believes it lends an authenticity to the space.

When people think of a barber, it’s usually associated with cutting men’s hair and maybe a shave, but about 15 percent of Patty’s clients are women. She frequently gets calls asking for a service she doesn’t provide. Patty said haircuts are all she does.

“I still have people who come in and ask for perms,” she said.

Most of her clients are regulars and in her 27 years of business, she has seen many of those clients grow into adults and have children of their own.

In movies and pop culture, barbershops are often depicted as comfortable spaces where men sit around and hash out the issues of the day while they wait their turn in the chair. Stuckey said that the stereotype isn’t far off from the real thing.

“I like the vibe of a barber shop. I can have 10 people in here waiting and so they sit around and chat,” she said. “It’s a good job.”

Anyone who knows Stuckey will tell you that she is not afraid to stand her ground, and often that’s led to interesting interactions with customers and in one case, with an inebriated man who walked in from the street spouting vulgarity. That altercation required a stun gun, she recalled.

While Stuckey has strong beliefs and feelings on many subjects, bringing up politics and controversial topics isn’t her practice. But she admits she’s not one to back down from a discussion.

“I don’t bring up politics or anything controversial but people do bring it up. If you start with me, I’ll finish it,” she said.

For Stuckey, it’s her shop and her rules. And her biggest rule is, “play nice.” Near the building’s entrance is a sign that customers can’t help but see. It reads: Hate Has No Home Here.

“I had a man complain about that,” she said.

In front of her shop she flies a flag in support of women’s reproductive rights. That symbol led to an exchange with a man who came into her shop just to express his disapproval. Stuckey took to social media and posted about her frustration over the encounter. The comment thread exploded with users coming down on both sides.

Stuckey isn’t a native Kewaneean, but was born in Galesburg, grew up in Rio and Farmington, before graduating from Knoxville High School. But she has roots nearby Kewanee as her grandmother lived just down the road in Neponset on a horse farm.

Raised a Baptist, Stuckey said she’s gotten away from organized religion, but still, she sees nothing wrong with allowing people to believe what they wish, and she feels strongly about how humans should treat one another.

“Personally, I think you should treat everyone the way that you want to be treated,” she said.

In her decades-long barber career, there’s probably not much Stuckey hasn’t seen or heard, but one quirky client in particular stands out in her memory.

“I used to have a man when I cut his hair, he’d have a bag on his lap and I’d have to put the hair in the bag and he’d make pillows out of it and give them as gifts,” she said.

In spite of all of that, Stuckey said being the only woman barber in a small rural town has not been without its perks. She gets to meet people and talk, two of her favorite things. But she’s quick to point out at least one drawback.

“Standing on your feet all day isn’t the best part. It hurts the back,” she said.

She also loves that she can set and control her own hours. And a waiting area full of clients isn’t a problem.

“I can usually, on a busy day, do five or six haircuts an hour. It takes about 10 to 15 minutes a haircut,” said Stuckey.

At almost 65, Stuckey is looking towards the future and retirement. Ideally, she would love to find a younger person interested in attending barber school, and someone she could take under her wing and show the ropes. The hope would be that one day the candidate could purchase the business from her.

“If someone bought the place, they’d walk into a fully established business. I honestly think I have another five years.”

Stuckey said that someone told her that you’re not a barber until you cut 10,000 heads of hair, and then she laughed when asked to estimate how many heads of hair she’s cut over her career.

“Tens of tens of thousands,” said Stuckey.

Patty’s Barber Shop is open, no appointment necessary, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, noon to 5 p.m. Thursdays, 2 to 7 p.m. Friday, noon to 5 p.m. and Saturdays, 8 a.m. to noon. The shop is closed on Sundays and Mondays.