Allston barber celebrates 61st year with State House citation
Anthony D'Isidoro
Allston barber celebrates 61st year with State House citation (Mary Ellen Gambon, The Bulletin: September 2, 2021)
Allston barber Demetrios “Jimmy” Papaslis said he felt like he was a cut above the rest on Friday, August 27 when he received a state citation from State Rep. Kevin Honan at his shop for his decades of dedication to the neighborhood he loves.
Papaslis has been cutting hair at the Princeton Barber Shop at the corner of Commonwealth and Harvard avenues since 1960. He took over the barbershop, which has been in business for 111 years, in 1965 and has been running it ever since, pausing only during the pandemic.
“I still pay the rent every month,” he said. “The pandemic has made it so difficult. I have worked hard all my life.”
He opened up the barber shop for a celebration with Honan, who represents Allston-Brighton and has been a faithful customer since he was about 10 years old. Surrounded by many family members and friends, he beamed as he received recognition for his community involvement. Another long-time client, former Boston Police Commissioner William Evans, also came by to congratulate his friend.
“I have been coming to see Jimmy since 1968,” Honan said as he presented the citation. “We’ve been talking politics, sports and Greek community issues. The police commissioner and I have been to many Greek Independence Day dinners and parades.”
Honan read the citation, which praised Papaslis for his “dedication, commitment and service to the Allston-Brighton community.”
Papaslis said he never expected an award when Honan contacted him.
“Who am I?” he asked. “I’m just a simple barber. But Mr. Honan has a big heart, even for the small people.”
“I remember the first hair cut I got here,” Evans added. “I never thought of going anywhere else.
“All those press conferences I gave, people would say how handsome I was,” he joked. “I would always say, ‘I owe it all to Jimmy.’”
He added that Papaslis and his wife, Eleftheria, invited Evans to events both in their home and throughout the community. Papaslis, the former president of the Hellenic Federation of New England, once presented Evans with an award for his running.
“He’s such a real gentle[1]man and a good guy,” added Richard Ford, a former police patrolman of 33 years and a partner of Evans, who has been coming here for more than two decades.
Papaslis explained that the shop previously was located at 1235 Commonwealth, one of the two original businesses in the area, along with a cobbler. Its history was shaped by twists of fate.
A German immigrant was working as a barber on a cruise ship that was detained in Boston at the beginning of World War II, according to Papaslis. He decided to open the shop rather than be sent back to his war-ravaged homeland. The boss then sold it to a Polish employee named William Belonos in 1953.
“To his luck, the owner had fallen in love with a girl from BU and moved to Florida,” Papaslis said.
Papaslis, a West Roxbury resident for the past three years, emigrated from Greece in 1956 at age 17 as his family escaped the civil war there, settling in Allston. He began working as a busboy in a local restaurant for $1 an hour.
It was sheer – or shear – circumstance that led Papaslis to enter his field. He had been asked at the restaurant where he worked if he wanted to become a chef.
“A friend told me not to become a chef because of an opportunity at the barber shop,” he said.
In 1960, Papaslis began working at the barber shop, sweeping the floor. Papaslis then went to barber school on Washington Street to obtain his license and began cutting hair, sometimes six or seven days a week. He purchased it five years later with a $2,000 down payment.
Long after, he was nearly called to serve in the Vietnam War. But the birth of his first daughter, Elizabeth, prevented him from being eligible.
“I always tell her she saved my life,” Papaslis said.
He was afraid at first when the business took a downturn in its early years because of the growing popularity of long hair. The shop moved down the street to 1233 and then to a basement storefront at 1215 to save money. His clientele grew as college students wanted a sharp style at a good price.
In 2012, the Princeton Barber Shop moved to its current home, where his wife had a hair salon. It was originally slated to be on the second floor, but a customer advised him to take the basement shop because it would attract more foot traffic.
His grandchildren reminisced with Papaslis about their time in the shop. They used to sweep floors and make lemonade, providing a family atmosphere that has endeared it to its clients.
“We pretty much grew up in the barber shop,” said his granddaughter, Eleftheria. “We used to combine some of the shampoos and make concoctions.”
Papaslis has been very active in the Greek community. He created the Boston Evzones, which replicated the Greek presidential honor guard here, complete with imported costumes. He does a lot of volunteering in this community and his church, the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral of New England.
He added he still has the antique cash register from the original barber shop.
“I just really appreciate everyone being here for me,” he said, noting he will turn 82 next month. He is contemplating selling the shop so that he can retire