NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – A 93-year-old veteran of both the Army and the Navy has been cutting hair on Oak Street for the past 70 years, and he’s still going strong.
Lynward “Bud” Adams grew up in the Riverbend neighborhood, and he’s been cutting hair at the Family Barber shop since 1966.
Before that, beginning in 1946, Bud worked with his father, Pete Adams, who was also a barber at another shop on Oak.
Young Bud, then known as “RePete,” started out shining shoes while his father cut hair.
Later, when World War II began, Bud Adams joined the Navy. He was assigned to guard merchant ships in the Pacific, leading a gun crew of up to 35 men on supply missions that would take them from Australia to the front lines.
After returning from the war, Bud joined the Army Reserves, retiring 30 years later as a master sergeant.
“People always ask me who I’m rooting for in the Army-Navy football game,” Bud said. “I tell them I’m guaranteed to have one winner and I’m guaranteed to have one loser.”
With a quick wit and a penchant for telling stories, Mr. Bud, as he’s known, has become an Oak Street icon.
A talented barista at a nearby coffee shop was so inspired by his daily visits that she drew a detailed sketch of Mr. Bud, which has been blown up to poster size and recently added to a Family Barber Shop t-shirt.
“It’s a study in wrinkles,” Mr. Bud said of the picture.
If you’re in need of a haircut, stop by and see Mr. Bud. He’ll tell you all about the war and what Oak Street was like when Truman was president.