Jung's Barber Shop/ Surgery Center

In the underground world of Ellinwood, there were services provided to the cattlemen and cowboys making their way through town. Jung's Barber Shop was such a place and the barber would perform surgeries as well as drawing a hot bath (15 cents for hot, clean water and 10 cents for dirty, lukewarm "second" water) or laundering clothes.

A common complaint was tonsillitis. The barber would insert an instrument, scoop out the offending tonsil, cauterize it, and, when the cowboy passed out from pain and shock, plop him into a wheelchair and let him sleep it off. The barber cut hair and shaved beards, of course, and when necessary, pulled teeth and let blood. The furnishings below are original to the underground tunnels of Ellinwood.

 

 

How about game of cards while you wait for your blood letting?

 

 

To the far left of this picture is a half wall. On the other side of the wall is a bed where a man could sleep off a drunk, recover from surgery or be joined by a local "Soiled Dove" who would provide a little comfort to a poor old cowboy. Soiled Doves or "Ladies of the Evening" weren't seen above ground in Ellinwood much where the ladies and children from town lived and shopped.

 

 

Of course, in the wild west, things could get out of hand. There are bullet holes in the ceiling of the barber shop to prove it!

 

Dear Readers, aren't we glad we live in 2013?