Ollie Weaver
1940 – 2018
Mr. Ollie Lee Weaver, Sr. was born on February 28, 1940 in Beeville, Texas. His dad later moved the family to Killeen, Texas to work building barracks at the United States military post, Fort Hood. He was the first of eight children and went to elementary, junior high and high school in Killeen.
In junior high school, his freshman year, he played football, and was on the “A” team. When his team played against McGregor, he had his knee clipped and ligaments torn. His ball playing days were over. He was admitted to Scott & White Hospital and spent 30 days there, and six months on crutches. The Killeen team went to State Championship that same year, but lost by two points. Mr. Weaver always thought that it was because he didn’t get to play. Big ego – no.
Since Mr. Weaver could not play ball, he moved to Kingsville, Texas to live with his aunt and two close cousins. He worked at two service stations (gas stations), and then went to work at the gin mill. He worked a linen press compacting bales of cotton. In addition, he had to keep a fire going with coal and wood. This was the hottest job he ever had.
At age 17, Mr. Weaver moved back to Killeen, Texas and entered Austin Barber College, which was owned by Mr. Curlie. He was moved up to the first chair in six weeks. Mr. Curlie said that some people just have a natural talent. Back then students only had to go to barber school for six months. When Mr. Weaver graduated, he went to Corpus Christie, Texas and worked at Peoples Barber Shop for one month. He then went back to Kingsville, Texas because his uncle owned a shop there. He worked at Kingsville Naval Base for six months and had to get a security clearance, which came in handy later at Fort Hood.
Mr. Weaver returned to Killeen, Texas when he heard that Fort Hood needed barbers. It was a basic training camp back then. He started barbering there in 1958, and remembers cutting 100 heads for 15 days straight. Haircuts were $0.70, and Mr. Weaver thought that he was rich. Many weeks he worked seven days. He worked on Fort Hood for 46 years, and was able to secure the concession, which was for 17 barbershops with 66 barbers.
The Army made basic trainees get a haircut every week. Colonel King, whom retired a three-star General, brought an entire battalion to the barbershop on Thursday nights. Colonel King kept them lined up in the hallway, so as one guy got out of the barber chair, there was one ready to sit down in it. They had 10 barbers, nine barbers cut hair, and one worked the cash register. They could cut 12 heads of hair an hour, and at the end of the day the money was split between the 10 barbers.
In 1961 Mr. Weaver met the beautiful young lady Jean Fullen, and they were married in November 1962. He had to wait until she grew up and finished high school. She was the best thing that ever happened to him! They were blessed with two children, a son in 1966, and a daughter in 1969, and now have nine grandchildren.
During this time, Mr. Weaver received the concessions for Bergstrom Air Force barbershops. It had two shops with 12 barbers. Camp Mabry in Austin had seven shops and eight barbers. He also received the Fort Hood beauty concession with two shops and 13 beauticians, the Travis Air Force beauty concession with two shops and 10 beauticians, the Travis Air Force Base barbershops with two shops and 12 barbers, Dyes Air Force at San Antonio with one shop and five barbers and one beauty shop with three beauticians, and Goodfellow in San Antonio with one shop with two beauticians. He was very, very blessed to have really good managers, had he not; he would not have been able to oversee all of the shops. Mr. Weaver ran the last contract out in 1998. His doctor made him retire because of his feet, the bane of all barbers.
Mr. Weaver was having problems getting barbers at Fort Hood and thought that opening a barber school was a good idea. So in 1987, Ollie Weaver, along with Gilbert Torres, opened OG’s School of Hair Design (OG’s) in Killeen. (Ollie / Gilbert = OG’s) Mr. Weaver later bought out Mr. Torres and became the sole owner of OG’s. They hired a licensed instructor, Carlos Torres, to teach classes until Mr. Weaver could get his instructor’s license. It took him two attempts to pass the Texas Barber Board examination. He left one hair on the inside of a nasal cleanse, and they failed him. They were very strict with instructor students back then.
Mr. Weaver always taught the back row, freshman class, because he loved to teach how to do the hands-on part. He would get home many nights with hits of Kleenex all over his face and neck because he was always the students’ first shave. The students said that Mr. Weaver would often go to sleep, so they were not so nervous. His wife thinks that he pretended that he was asleep sometimes.
In 2002, Mr. Weaver sold OG’s School of Hair Design to Kevin Lane. Mr. Lane had worked for Mr. Weaver for eight years as an instructor and was more than ready to go solo. Mr. Weaver, however, occasionally worked for Mr. Lane and was happy to do so. He, and his wife Jean, love the pride Mr. Lane instilled in his barber students and their work. OG’s has always had a strong reputation of graduating polished barbers who are ready to start a new life.
Mr. Weaver once said that he would TRULY retire when he was 100 years old, or dies. He has retired. 1940 – 2018
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To a man who was the gateway into a life of education, continuing education, a standard of excellence, employment, and entrepreneurship for many barber students, a man of great talent, skill, work ethic, passion, compassion, pride, and focus, and who made the service to others his life-long quest, who listened, taught, instructed, guided, nurtured, laughed, lived and endured to the end, FAREWELL.
Ollie Lee Weaver, Sr.
1940 – 2018