a letter to the man who used to cut my mother's hair

Hello Matthews!

I am glad to have found you on facebook, I haven't lived in the Syracuse area for years, but I wanted to share a memory and if you could please pass this on to Matthew himself I would appreciate it. 

Back in the early 90s my mother and older sisters used to love Matthew's salon. My memories of each time I had my hair done at the salon are very dear to me. Since I was pretty young it was a really big deal, in fact one of the few times was my older sister's wedding. 

I remember sitting in the chair and Matthew playing snoopy music. On one occasion he brushed out my hair with this big paddle brush and turned it up into an unusual knot. I was ten and my mother thought it looked so amazing she bought all of the aveda products and the paddle brush for me. We went straight from the salon to an impromptu portrait session at JC Penny. I'll never forget that day with my mom.

I never had a great school picture but those pictures from that day make up for it and then some. 

I left Syracuse for college, and have only been back to visit. Mom passed away in 2002 with cancer so none of the Holmes women have been in to see Matthew for ages. 

I thought of this today because twenty years after the day my Mom splurged and bought me a $20 hairbrush (unbelievable by her standards), the brush is finally going to be retired. It just lasted and lasted until recently.

I've been trolling etsy and pinterest trying to find a fitting second life for the brush.

Anyway, after all these years I wanted to thank Matthew. It was a moment I won't forget. 

Sincerely, 

Mary E. Holmes
(Westvale)