Community rallies to help injured barber

Scissors, razors and the like all make the list of a barber's tools, but at the top of that list are a barber's hands, needed to use all those other tools.

Scissors, razors and the like all make the list of a barber’s tools, but at the top of that list are a barber’s hands, needed to use all those other tools.

Long-time local barber Murd Nicholson, who operates his shop out of the Westmark Whitehorse Hotel, knows that all too well after a motorcycle accident on May 31 crushed his right hand and left elbow, putting him out of work until he recovers.

For years, he has offered his support to the community in ways that ranged from volunteering with Yukon Learn to co-ordinating and sponsoring the annual beard growing contest during the Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous festival each February.

The community will be showing its support for him on Sunday with a fund-raising barbecue at the Frank Slim Building in Shipyards Park.

“I was overwhelmed,” Nicholson said in an interview this morning about when he learned of the fund-raiser.

The idea for the event was that of Nicholson’s friends, Herold Shier and Ken Roberts, who were visiting Nicholson in the hospital shortly after his mishap.

Nicholson was part of a group riding in formation when a biker at the front thought there was a bear crossing the road and stopped quickly. That created a domino effect behind him, and Nicholson collided with the bike in front of him, Shier said.

Knowing it would be a while before Nicholson would be working again, they decided to start work on raising money to help him out.

It took little effort to get a variety of organizations and local businesses on board. They include the Gold Wing Road Riders Association, the Seventh Day Adventist Church, Yukon Learn, Special Olympics Yukon and the Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous Society.

Things like organizing the event and getting the proper insurance had to be done. Businesses have taken on roles like providing items for the silent auction and food for the grill.

“They stepped up right away,” Shier said.

Rendezvous praised Nicholson’s work in the community when it announced it would be among the many participating organizations in the barbecue.

“It is with great pleasure that we are helping with this fund-raiser,” Rendezvous president Marj Eschak said in a statement. “Murd has been an integral part of the entire Yukon, and this is just one way we can give back.”

Along with his volunteer work, Shier described Nicholson as the kind of guy who will go to a silent auction and bid $50 on an item that has a $5 value, seeing it more as a donation to the organization than being a way to get a good deal on something.

Grateful for the support while he is out of work, Nicholson is looking forward to returning to his gig at the Westmark Whitehorse.

In his 35 years working as a barber, he said, he’s never had a bad day. It appears his customers are just as anxious for him to return as well, with many asking when he’ll be back when they run into him around town.

“They’re anxious,” he said.

The pins have been removed from his hand, and Nicholson is now doing therapy. He can almost move his hand. He hopes he’ll return to work by the end of September, though that will depend on how things continue to go. In August, he’s scheduled to get the pins taken out of his elbow.

Efforts to find someone to fill in for him at the shop haven’t been successful, though the Westmark has been good about waiving his rent while he’s away.

Prior to the collision, he was planning to hire an apprentice in the hopes that person would eventually take over the shop, he said, noting that it seems many are choosing the hair styling trade over barbering.

“I love my trade,” he said.

Sunday’s “Lend A Helping Hand BBQ and Silent Auction” will get underway at 4 p.m. with burgers, smokies, salads and dessert on the menu for a $10 donation per person.

The event will end at 7 p.m.