Before visiting Barkerville, I naively thought the town was full of hairy unsavoury types who worked all day and drank all night. Hygiene and keeping up appearances never crossed my mind. So it was interesting to learn about the town’s barbershop owned by Mr. Wellington Delaney Moses.
Let’s take a closer look at the sign..
Sorry it’s blurry. It reads, “If your hair is falling call and have it restored before you are bald headed.”. Mr. Moses promoted his Hair Invigorator, which supposedly could restore thinning hair – as well as relieving headaches, and changing the colour and richness of your hair. Basically, a big fat lie that I’m sure insecure locals lapped up while handing over their hard-earned cash.
But aside from questionable business practices, Mr. Moses also made a name for himself by solving a murder. Yep, that’s right. To read more about his impressive sleuthing skills, check out the Royal BC Museum‘s article here.
Bonne journée!
Marla
Are you a reader at all?
Check out ‘Moses, Me and Murder’.
That’s right, there’s an entire book about it. It is a fictional take on the real story, but still… it’s a pretty insightful look at what this province might have been like during the Gold Rush. All I’ve learned about the Gold Rush, it was a pretty bonkers time in history.
Also, if you’re into fiction and reading there’s another book by the same Author called ‘Your Time My Time’. Both are very easy reads and both paint a pretty picture of this corner of the world that you’ve found magic in.
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Thank you!! I’ve added both to my ever growing list of books to read.
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