MILLENNIUM MOMENT

Mabelle Taylor moved around a lot in her career as a barber, working in

Minnesota, Illinois, Montana, South Dakota and, finally, in Costa Mesa,

where she operated Mabelle Taylor’s Friendly Barber Shop on Fairview

Road.

The old-time shop had only one chair, but it had a black dog named Coalie

to give it some character and it had the anecdotes of the woman wielding

the scissors.

Taylor had been the personal barber of William Randolph Hearst for the

last four years of his life. She would recall, between snips at

customers’ sideburns, the day she gave the newspaper magnate his final

shave.

“Goodbye, Mrs. Taylor,” said the fresh-faced Hearst as he walked out of

the shop.

“A few minutes later, the houseboy came running out and said to call a

doctor,” Taylor said.

The next day, Hearst was dead.

* MILLENNIUM MOMENT celebrates the people who have made a major

contribution to the Newport-Mesa community during this century.