“It is the working man who is the happy man. It is the idle man who is the miserable man.” – Benjamin Franklin
There is a satisfaction you get, when working a job you love.
Studies also show that if you’re happy with your work, you can live longer, too.
So when 91-year-old Bob Rohloff got the chance to open a new business, he never thought of saying no. After all, the barber had been cutting hair since 1948 and had loved every day of it. Bob followed in the footsteps of his father, Erv Rohloff, who ran his own shop in the 1930s.
Bob, along with his wife Mirian, had tried retiring to Arizona, he said, but it didn’t last long. A few months later, he came out of retirement and took up a job cutting hair back in their hometown of Hortonville, Wis.
“Retirement isn’t that easy,” Bob said. “You need to stay active in something, whether it’s a hobby or a job, and I happened to enjoy my job very much … it’s fun coming into the shop.”
I like to do it, and I feel good, so why stop?”
That’s why, when Mark Karweick, 55, met Bob, it only took 90 minutes for the two men to hatch a plan – open up their own barber shop.
Erv Rohloff cutting Bob’s hair circa. 1930s Photo courtesy of the Rohloff family
Their business pays homage to the old-style barber shops, with low prices ($14 for a standard cut, $12 for seniors) and a 100-year-old chair for customers to sit in.
“There aren’t that many old-fashioned shops left in the country, and we’re gonna try and keep it that way,” Bob said.
Bob and Mark both believe the key to a long life is to do what you love.
“Sitting in a La-Z-Boy, that’s no way to live. Most people got their health issues, and they either give up, or they think they can’t do anything after a certain age, but they can,” Mark said.
Colin Milner, the CEO and Founder of the International Council on Active Aging agrees.
“Physical activity is just one of the many elements that makes up a person,” he said.
It’s just as important that we are socially connected and that we are intellectually active.”
“The best part has been meeting new people,” Bob agreed. “They’re not just customers, they become fast friends. We have customers who bring us maple syrup, people that will bring us vegetables from their farms or even homemade sauerkraut. You don’t get that working in a big city.”
Bob Rohloff stands behind his barber chair. Photo by Mark Karweick
Sometimes it’s old customers that come in to see Bob. “I’ll have people in their 50s telling me I gave them their first haircut when they were 2!” he says.
When Bob’s not working, he said he keeps social by playing cards with friends, and more importantly, spending time with Marian. The couple has been married for 72 years.
Bob said he can’t imagine not working. As for a real retirement – it’s highly unlikely, he said, unless the job becomes too physically demanding.
“I’m too happy to quit,” he said.
For a few lessons on life and good haircuts, watch below.
