On April 1, the building at 208 S. Main Street in Waterloo will no longer be home to a beauty shop that served customers for over 70 years. 

Pins and Curls owner Teresa Fruth had been working in the building for nearly 50 years, first working under Vivian McDonald when it housed her hair salon. 

Fruth bought the business 43 years ago from McDonald and branded it Pins and Curls. 

“This has been a nice way to go through life,” Fruth reflected on her career as a beautician. “It didn’t seem like work, it was fun. You’re doing people’s hair, you’re visiting – it was a good way to go through life.” 

Through stories from her clients, Fruth was able to piece together the building’s history that pre-dated her. Gladys Wittenauer-Thiele, one of Fruth’s clients, visited the shop in August 1949 to get her hair done for her first wedding, providing evidence that the building’s stint as a beauty shop lasted over 70 years. 

Newspaper archives showed that the South Main building was W.E. Eilbracht’s drug store in the early 1900s. Fruth said her clients would tell her the very door leading into the shop was the site of many marriages, as Eilbracht was a justice of the peace.

Decades later, Fruth’s story began – and it started before she ever stepped foot in the shop.

“Why I became a beautician is still a mystery to me,” she said. “My mother had health problems and I would do her hair at home, and I guess that’s where it came from because I still to this day don’t know why I became a beautician. It just happened  and here I am 50 years later. It was meant to be.” 

As such, some may describe Fruth finding McDonald – and later buying the business – as natural. 

She was not completely on her own as a new owner, though. As evidenced by old holiday ads in local newspapers, Rose Mary Purl and Nancy Schneider Nobbe, two other stylists who helped run the salon, were essential parts of Pins and Curls too. 

Over the years, Purl and Schneider Nobbe left Pins and Curls. For a while, Fruth was the only stylist in the salon and eventually she was joined by Barb Goldschmidt, who made a name for herself as a beautician serving nursing homes. 

“It’s interesting how life takes care of you, how God takes care of you,” Fruth said.

Then, after COVID, Alice Rodgers, another local stylist, came into the picture. Per COVID, only one stylist would be in the shop at a time. 

Through 43 years as Pins and Curls, Fruth said she built something special. It is not unusual for Fruth’s clients to have been coming to her for decades. 

“I have an older clientele and they come to get their hair done. It’s important to them,” Fruth said. “With a lot of my clients, I would see them as much as their family because of life and the way it is – people are busy. They came to get their hair done every week … so, it was a nice relationship that developed over the years.” 

Wittenauer-Thiele echoed this sentiment. 

“Everybody is so friendly here. We’re like a little family here,” Wittenauer-Thiele said. 

It’s not just Fruth the clients have built a strong relationship with, but also Fruth’s older brother Tom. When Fruth became Tom’s caretaker, he became a staple in the salon, greeting all who entered with a big smile. 

Some regulars even pick Tom up a cup of coffee from across the street before coming in. 

These bonds are why Fruth continued operating Pins and Curls all these years, she said. 

“I’ve been trying to stay to take care of the people who have been faithful to me all these years,” Fruth said, referring to her clients. 

Fruth operated outside the shop, too. As her business aged, so did her clientele and many moved into nursing homes. Fruth would make special visits to serve these clients.

When requested, Fruth would even see clients in the funeral home for their final hairdos. 

“It was a special time to remember and have my last farewell to them,” Fruth said.

Now, it is time for another farewell as Pins and Curls closes. When the building’s owner received a business opportunity, Fruth said they “couldn’t pass up.” 

Fruth knew it was time to retire her shears. 

“I didn’t choose it, it chose me,” she said.