Recently we lost our friend and town barber, Jerry Main. I didn’t have an opportunity to speak at his open house at the Eagles’ hall. I could barely even get in the back door. You couldn’t get near the front door. Jerry obviously had a lot of friends. If I had spoken at his memorial, I would have said something like this.

I really loved Jerry. I never told him that. Not sure he would have liked that. Jerry was a man’s man. A man’s barber. He could talk about any subject you brought up. Often I would go into his shop, hoping he wouldn’t have any other customers in there. I was always glad for Jerry that he was busy, but I very much enjoyed having him to myself. I idly entertained the idea of locking his door so no one could interrupt our conversation. He loved to talk about his family, fishing, hunting, sports, maybe a particularly funny Seinfeld episode, a show Jerry and I were both fans of. He loved to talk about the old days, about his dad, a tough logger, and all of his dad’s logger buddies. I wish I could have met his dad.

Jerry was a character. He had an opinion about everything. He and I didn’t agree on everything, but that would never have gotten in the way of our friendship.

Jerry had a wonderful sense of humor. For some reason Sharon, my wife, likes my hair long. Sometimes after Jerry cut my hair, Sharon would walk past Jerry’s shop and shake her fist at him through his window. Once I went in to have Jerry cut my hair, and Jerry said “I’m not touchin’ it. Your wife got pretty upset at me last time I cut it.” Jerry knew the whole thing was just a joke, but he played it beautifully.

I will continue to support whoever takes over Jerry’s shop, but it won’t quite be the same. Jerry became a fixture in downtown Snoqualmie, always there to wave at as I drove by. Sometimes I would simply pop in and tell him something funny. I enjoyed making him laugh.

Beneath that thin layer of tough crust lived a very nice man. I miss you a lot, Jerry. Rest in peace.

Wes Sorstokke

Snoqualmie Falls Candy Factory owner