In 1909 Howard Laughton purchased for $800 the two-story section of the E.C. Wilder homestead and hotel. which was removed when John D. Allan built his new home in 1896. This structure occupied a small lot adjacent to the site of the T.W. Allan store that had burned in 1893. Howard and Sabra (Hayward) Laughton had living quarters on the second floor, where the doors still had numbers on them, reminiscent of hotel days. On the first floor, which had formerly been the large dining room, was the barber shop and Laughton's woodshed. The small kerosene water heater, the rows of shaving mugs, and the straight razor and strop, as well as the board, smooth from many years of use, which was put across the arms of the barber's chair to provide a convenient seat for smaller patrons, were all familiar fixtures of the shop. Mr. Laughton's accuracy with tobacco juice equaled his skill with scissors and razor. With great agility he used his foot to open the door of the wood stove no more than a couple of inches and, according to all reports, never missed his mark! He sent each customer on his way with a cheery, "Drop in again," for nearly forty years, retiring just shortly before his death in 1949. His widow survived him for ten years, after which the building was vacant until razed several years later.

Dennys River Historic PhotographsPhotos for Map