STERLING — The iconic red, white and blue helix barber pole outside Woody’s Barber Shop has been a staple on Main Street for as long as people can remember, a symbol of the longevity of the multigenerational family-run business.
Fifth generation barber Derek Moulton, 31, is doing a great job keeping Woody’s Barber Shop going strong more than 110 years in, an impressive feat, especially in these fickle economic times. Moulton, who calls himself “the town barber,” grew up upstairs from the shop named after his beloved late grandfather Leon Woodcock Jr., who was affectionately called Woody, and some of his earliest memories are tied to the place.
“My first memories of the shop are when I was really little. I remember coming downstairs and saying hi to my grandfather, then playing with any kids who came in with their parents,” he recalled.
His family moved “basically across the street” to Meetinghouse Hill Road when he was about 5 years old, and his mother Betty Moulton ran the barber shop for just over 30 years before she retired soon after the pandemic hit.
“The pandemic was really the only reason she needed,” Derek said of what pushed his mom to retire.
But the family’s barber legacy started well before that.
Leon ‘Woody’ Woodcock Jr. was born on Main Street in 1923 to Leon and Luella Woodcock. Woody lived in his cherished hometown his entire life.
He was very active in town up until he passed away peacefully on Nov. 30, 2019, at the age of 96, seven years after the barber shop that his father opened in 1912 when he was 11 years old celebrated its 100th anniversary.
The barber shop was originally located in the back of the Woodcock family house on the corner of Waushacum Avenue and School Street, and was run by Woody’s grandfather for 25 years before Woody’s father, Leon Woodcock Sr., moved it to its current location on Main Street around 1938.
Woody’s grandson Derek Moulton graduated from Rob Roy Academy in 2015 to officially become a barber, and took over the shop when his mom retired and moved to Florida.
Derek said it is important to him “to be here and do this, because my grandfather was my favorite person.”
“He was always there for me growing up, and being here filling in his footsteps gives me the chance to pretend that part of him is still here,” he said.
He lives in Woody’s house, next door to the shop, and said he walks to work “because I practically live (there).”
These days, the nofrills barber shop seems a window into another time. There are three barber chairs, racks filled with magazines and books for kids, and trinkets, photos, and mementos line shelves and decorate the walls, including a chalkboard sign that proudly proclaims “110 yrs. Family owned & operated.”
The bench overlooking Main Street that Woody and Betty would sit on in between customers is still on the sidewalk, right in front of the shop. Haircuts are $17, $13 for seniors. As a result of the pandemic, they started offering call ahead appointments, available by calling 978-549-8345.
“What I enjoy the most is getting old customers that have moved out of town who are in the area for a visit that can tell me about coming here when they were kids, or fill me in on family history and the people they met here way back when,” Derek said.
Between Woody’s and his second job delivering pizzas for C&M Pizza, located just a hop skip and jump from the barber shop down Main Street, Derek said he often works 60 hours a week. But he enjoys his work and especially being part of Woody’s and interacting with customers, many of whom are regulars, and “some are even generational.”
“What I like most about my regulars are the conversations,” Derek said. “It always depends on who’s in the chair. Sometimes we talk about the weekend, sometimes their kids growing up, sometimes sports or the things we all wanna do or accomplish.”
Like any other business, Woody’s has had its share of ups and downs over the decades and was affected by the pandemic (“some things for the better, but most of the impact of it was negative”). Despite those challenges, Derek continues to enjoy being a part of his family’s story and helping to write the next chapter.
“If anything, it makes me appreciate being able to come here every day even more.”
