Adam Wilson’s collection of vintage and antique shaving and barbering items is on full display at his barbershop in La Porte, Ind. (Photo by Michael E. Grass)
LA PORTE, Ind. — As I was walking along Lincolnway in the center of this town of 22,000 people about 30 miles west of South Bend, the skies turned dark and suddenly opened up late Tuesday afternoon.
I mistakenly forgot to bring an umbrella along for this trip, but fortunately for me, Wilson’s Barbershop and Shave Parlor, located in a charming 150-year-old downtown commercial building opposite the La Porte County Courthouse, was right there. In French, la porte means door and Wilson’s door was open.
Owner-barber Adam Wilson didn’t have any customers at the moment and my buzzcut needed to be tidied up in any regard, so the timing was perfect. We got to talking about La Porte and the ongoing renaissance of barbershop culture across the country.