Health is failing a longtime barber in the Conroe area, but his shop is still standing strong.

Dan Nichols, 85, sold his barbershop about two years ago due to his ailments. For the new owner, Salvador Ramos, that did not mean changing the name of the business, which many Conroe natives and mainstays are distinctly familiar with.

Staff Photo by Jason Fochtman
Salvador Ramos shaves a customer's beard at Dan's Barber Shop in Downtown Conroe

Dan’s Barbershop did not begin as an ambitious idea. Nichols worked at the old Conroe hotel under Jake Pearson back in the 60s, before he bought the shop and ran it for the next several years.

Nichols then moved the shop to College Street, where he cut hair for almost 20 years before moving into his downtown Conroe location at N. Main Street across from the courthouses.

Now, Nichols is suffering from kidney and heart problems. He undergoes dialysis periodically and is wheelchair bound. As a disabled veteran of the Korean War, Nichols is still fighting.

His main goal is to walk again.

In the meantime, Nichols spends time reflecting on his life and hoping to amend any fractured relationships built over the years.

But his friend Ramos, who purchased the shop from Nichols two years ago, said he does not know anyone who does not respect the old barber.

“He’s an outgoing individual,” Ramos said. “He’s the kind of person to know everything going on around town because he cut so many people’s hair — the doctors, lawyers and everyone, really. People would come in and ask questions about how to get here and there. Of course, he always knew where to direct them. He’s just a good person.”

Tommy Feagin, who works at the Allstate insurance business connected to the shop and was influential in getting Nichols there nearly 15 years ago, said Nichols gave him his first haircut in the late 60s and that was the only barber he had until the health issues arose.

“My first haircut was down at the Conroe hotel. He was down there for years,” Feagin said in a recent interview. “He doesn’t just cut hair at his shop. My grandfather fell ill and he would go over to his house and give him a haircut at home. He was almost like a traveling barber. He did that for my father also, when he was ill.

“That’s just the kind of guy he is. He would go and do these things for people and he was just always there.”

Nichols, who told The Courier last week that he always enjoyed working in the public and getting to know people, carries the name that still shows outside the downtown barbershop.

Ramos said he did not change the name so he could honor the man who sold him the business.

“He’s been a good friend,” Ramos said. “He was a good boss. When his wife passed away, I participated in the service and sang at her service. In fact, he’s already asked me, that when he departs from this world he wants me to sing at his funeral. It’s more than just a friendship.”

Feagin pointed out that haircuts are far more expensive than they were when Nichols first started cutting his hair more than 45 years ago. But Nichols would go above and beyond for his customers.

“He was always real fair,” Feagin said. “I bet he cut 1,000 people and would say, ’This one’s on me.’ I know he did that for me several times. If I went in on my birthday, or something like that, he would cut my hair and fix me up. He wouldn’t take a nickel. He’s always been a giving person to me. He was friends with both my grandfathers. He’s been here forever and I look at him as a dad.”