Enola barber Brad Shepler had a busy Monday, with a consistent stream of customers calling and coming to his shop for their first cuts and shaves since mid-March. It was Shepler’s first day opening since COVID-19 forced the closure of businesses across the state, a closure that Shepler has decided he can’t abide by anymore.
Shepler’s shop, in the 700 block of Wertzville Road, is on the bottom level of his home that he shares with his two daughters and his wife. The veteran has three cutting stations and a small waiting area where two people were sitting Monday afternoon while a third had his hair trimmed.
Shepler said just like it is his decision to reopen, his customers have the decision on whether or not to come into the barbershop.
“I believe in choice. You choose not to come, that’s fine. But at the same time, I need to do my best,” Shepler said. “It’s my responsibility to make a living, take care of my family.”
Shepler sees himself as one of many business owners, in Pennsylvania and across the country, who have reached a point where they just can’t stay closed any longer. Another one locally that has opened its doors in defiance of Wolf’s closure orders is a York diner, which is providing dine-in service.
“My decision to reopen is purely financial. I’ve gotta pay my bills. I have a mortgage, I’ve got two kids to take care of, you know,” Shepler said. “I became self-employed 20 years ago, figured I’d be able to take care of myself and at some point, the public can decide if they want to risk themselves and come in here.”
The bank still wants its money, Shepler said, and since he has not formally filed for unemployment, he has received no money from the government. He has applied but not filed a claim for unemployment, he said.
“I’m just at the point where I don’t want somebody to take care of me, I just want to earn a living,” Shepler said.
Word spread about Shepler’s business reopening after he posted a video of his business being visited by East Pennsboro Twp. police over his lunch break.
The video shows what appeared to be a polite interaction with Shepler acknowledging the reasons the police were there, the officers giving a verbal warning, and Shepler saying they did not have the power to punish his business for operating.
“I don’t begrudge the police," Shepler said. “They’ve got a job to do. I just happen to know my constitutional rights. I just happen to know my constitutional rights and I’m going to exercise them. That’s just the way I see it.”
Officers only came once, Shepler said, and he believes they came because a neighbor called them.
East Pennsboro Twp. police issued a statement late in the afternoon stating that at the time of the visit, officers were operating under the directive that multiple warnings would be given before the cases were evaluated by the DA’s office.
As of mid-afternoon Monday, District Attorney Skip Ebert clarified that “only the most egregious” violations of COVID-19 restrictions would be investigated and potentially prosecuted. He went on to say that so far there have been no criminal prosecutions related to the virus but there are civil procedures that could be used. He also reminded business owners that if someone claimed to have gotten the virus at a business that had reopened against the closure order, they could be subject to lawsuits.
Wolf told reporters Monday that aside from withholding funding from counties that disobeyed, any business that is state-licensed could lose that license if it defy the closure orders.
Cumberland County remains in the red phase, where residents are under stay-at-home orders and only life-sustaining businesses can open. Its commissioners released a statement Monday saying they “not promoting or advocating any actions that are openly defiant of the state of emergency, nor are we encouraging individuals or businesses to break the law.”
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Shepler said he will fight any citations or punishments that might occur because he opened his doors because he believes it is unconstitutional to force the closure of his business.
“While I respect the governor, he doesn’t make law by speaking. That’s not how laws work. I’m exercising my right to make a living. He can do what he wants to do,” Shepler said.
That’s not to say that Shepler doesn’t believe in the risks involved with reopening.
“I took it seriously for a little while and then, of course, I started to learn more about what’s going on and it made my decision a little easier,” he said. “I don’t feel like I’m putting others at risk and if they feel like they’re at risk, they shouldn’t come. I totally agree with whatever they decide.”
For Shepler, it’s a matter of survival, and he knows others are in the same boat.
“I’m suspecting that a lot of people in my position are going to start opening their doors because you can’t survive," Shepler said. “It’s just hard to live when there’s no income, especially when you’re relying on yourself for that income.”
Shepler said he’s taking precautions by keeping his hands as clean as possible and is sanitizing his tools. He has a thermometer ready to put to use in case he has suspicions about someone’s health and stressed he understands the seriousness of COVID-19.
“I believe there’s a virus. I believe there’s people dying from it. I believe the approach that was taken was the wrong approach,” he said. “But quarantine the sick. You don’t quarantine the masses. That’s not how you prevent a virus.”
Shepler is not using a mask while he works, and said masks aren’t required by customers. He said it is more likely that touching something contaminated will spread the virus more than him talking to someone, and that the masks are uncomfortable.
“I have a sign on the door that says if you’re not comfortable with me not wearing a mask, you shouldn’t come in,” Shepler said. He hopes that if people believe they are at risk or could spread it themselves, they should stay home.
For the customers who were there Monday, such as Kit Wilson who got a haircut and shave while holding a Steelers masks that he used when he entered the shop, Shepler is essential.
“My wife showed up the other day, she went to CVS and bought a pair of scissors,” Wilson said with a laugh. Wilson said he wouldn’t consider going to a party with 30 to 40 people, but the barber was different.
“I consider this essential. I don’t cut my own hair, I never have, and I don’t want my wife trying,” Wilson said. Wilson believes that if people keep social distancing, sanitizing and doing their part, these types of services should be fine.
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Both men acknowledge there is still risk involved, in part because they both know that not everyone is doing their part and taking the virus seriously.
Wilson said he doesn’t think people realize how serious it is until it hits home, which is why he sees people arguing to open restaurants and bars.
“Personally, and I feel their pain, the bars and restaurants are going to be the last things to open up,” Wilson said. “Who’s going to enforce if you can only let so many people in, or every third bar stool, you know? You can’t leave them to their own devices, it will turn into chaos.”
So what is the risk of getting your hair cut? Shepler sees it differently than when the virus first surfaced months ago.
“We didn’t understand what we were dealing with. But at this point? I would consider it much less of a risk than going to the grocery store. And people do that every day,” Shepler said. “I can’t say it’s low risk because we’re close [together]. But based on all the other risks, it’s not very high.”
“That’s just the way I look at it. Not everybody’s going to see it that way and I understand completely," Shepler said. “But for me, that’s the way I rationalize it.”