Barbering has changed since Earl Downing began cutting hair in 1926. He
  applied for an apprentice card and began training under a licensed barber.
  Shops were more plentiful then; the small town of Attic supported a half
  a dozen barbers. When Earl came to Medicine Lodge in 1937, there were ten
  here.
     Girls and women had their hair cut in the shops, as beauty shops were
  not licensed until in the '40's.
     Saturday night closing time was midnight. Prices during the Depresssion
  of the '30's were hair cuts 25 cents and 15 cents for a shave.
     Earl purchased his first shop on North Main in 1939. He sold that shop
  and in 1968 he purchased the Newkirk Shop on South Main. Previous owners 
  had been Newkirk, Ward, Miller, Crawford, and Voss.
     Prior to choosing the barber trade, Earl had farmed.
     The Downing family came to Kansas from Illinois in 1878. Enos H. Downing
  and Ella Anderson were married and soon settled in a community east of Sharon,
  Kansas, known as Nine Cottonwood Valley. Not long after, they moved to the
  Harper-Barber County line. This farm is where Earl was born Aug. 12, 1896. He 
  was next to the youngest of six brothers and three sisters. He is now the only
  survivor of his family.
     Earl married Clara Agnes Tincher August 8, 1917. Clara's older brother came
  to the area first and was responsible for the Tincher family's move. The
  brother, Jasper Napoleon (Poly) Tincher, was a school teacher. He became a
  lawyer in Medicine Lodge and finally served two terms as Congressman.
     Clara Agnes was born March 28, 1895, and came to Kansas with her parents,
  Andrew and Corrine (Clifford) Tincher, from Missouri at age two. She was one
  of eight children and grew to womanhood at Sharon.
     Both of the Downings attended the Christian Church. They had previously
  been members of the United Brethren Church which Earl's father had helped to 
  organize in Sharon in 1890.
     Earl and Clara had two sons, Willard died in 1947, Wayne lives in Enid,
  Oklahoma. He is a former Medicine Lodge resident and local postal employee.
  There are six grandchildren and four great grandchildren.
     Earl was incolved with the Chamber of Commerce, and Clara was a longtime
  member of EHU. Clara passed away May 1, 1973.
     Earl's hobbies through the years were gardening and fishing. He retired
  from barbering after 51 years.
     On October 3, 1976, Earl and Flossie Hittle united their lives in marriage.
 
                
     Source:Chosen Land - Barber County, Kansas,  pg. 160 
     Submitted by: Earl Downing