Larry Lewis
To Be Recognized During
the 61st Annual Horsethief Days
Every year a non-profit group within the Knox area is asked to select a citizen of the year for the Knox Horsethief Days.
This year the Knox Lions Club was given that task and the group selected a most worthy recipient for the Knox Citizen of the Year, Larry Lewis
Larry, the first child of Dean and Althea Lewis, was born January 30, 1951 and graduated from Keystone High School in 1968. Larry is married to Cindy Lewis. They have been married 45 years, and the union consists of two daughters: Amanda Curry (Chris) who resides in Mechanicsburg, PA and Alissa Songer (Jacob) who resides in Port Saint John, FL. He has three grandchildren: Corina Curry and Paislee and Michael Songer. Larry and Cindy attend the Knox United Methodist Church.Upon graduating from Erie Barber School July 2, 1969, Larry was employed the following day by Hiwiller Barbershop in Knox, PA. His first customer was Ira Dunkle from Van, PA. Haircuts were $1.50 at that time, and to this day, he charges no more than $10.00. In 1974, it became Lewis Barbershop. Larry has been a barber for 53 years in the Knox community. At the 50 year mark of his business and commitment to the borough of Knox, an open house was held with family and friends as well as the whole community. Larry has done a “few 5 generation haircuts”. He has sponsored Keystone school activities, bowling and softball teams, etc. A “Wall of Fame” for his teams’ achievements is displayed in the shop. Children and parents love the wall. The biggest question is, “Mr. Larry, how can I get on the wall?” and the response is, “good grades, winning championships, state competitions, and other honors”. Some reply that they will make it on the wall. They come back to the shop to see they made the wall and get a haircut.
Larry loves giving back to the community. Some of his main hobbies include spending time with his grandchildren and collecting antiques, coins, and baseball cards. Larry enjoys the local history of Knox and surrounding areas. He is a “source of information”. Larry is also a collector of license plates, both old and new. He was given these license plates from foreign exchange students who stop in for a haircut and from his customers who have visited or served in these foreign countries.His accomplishments started early as he and Gary Rex started the golf team at Keystone High School in 1968. He served as President of the Knox Lions Club in 1977, Horsethief committee for 19 years, Masons for 50 years, and in 2011, obtained the Melvin Jones Award (highest honor of the Lions Club).On Wednesdays, Larry visits shut-ins and customers. He states his biggest motto is, “if people are good enough to come to the shop, I’m good enough to go out when they can’t make it to the shop”.Lewis Barbershop is located on 427A Main Street Knox, PA 16232.Larry extends his gratitude to the Knox Lions Club for nominating him for this honor.
This year’s 61st Annual Knox Horsethief Days will run from August 13th - August 20th.
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