Youngest son of Willie and Sallie Boyd Rowell Rowell and the twin of Dorothy Rowell McMillan. Donnie married (1) Rebecca Helms on March 7, 1948, and (2) Doretha Floyd on Jul 18, 1998.
Donnie moved to Charlotte, NC in 1941. He cut hair for more than 50 years. He started cutting hair as a boy growing up on a farm. The following is from a newspaper article on Donnie from 2004:
"I used to cut my daddy's hair. My brother was a barber and he had some tools laying around." he said.
After serving in the army, Rowell went to barber school in Winston-Salem.
"When I started out I wasn't very good." he said. He recalled one day when he messed up a customer's hairstyle.
"Back then no one had their hair cut in a straight line across the back of their necks. It was tapered. Well, one day I was kinda trying to watch the fella cutting hair next to me, to see how he did it. I tried it, but the more I tried to work with it, the more I messed it up. The other barber sent me to the bathroom and fixed it."
Rowell has owned 4 barber shops in Charlotte since 1949. His current shop has a 1968 Coca-Cola ice box which he gives customers 6-ounce drinks, a barber chair from the 1950's and black and white photographs of his old shops from the 1940's.
He met his wife, Becky, while cutting hair in August 1947. "She'd come in to get her hair cut in the beauty shop in back, and since I was in the first chair, I'd hold the door open for her."
They were married eight months after they met.
The biggest barrier Rowell said he had to overcome occurred in the early 1960's.
"It was strange, everyone started wearing long hair. Before that, people had it short, just enough to comb it. They would come in every week or two to get it cut. When long hair was in, you'd have to cut and cut for 30 minutes, and they wouldn't come back for three months. That's why so many shops closed in the '60's."
"Daddy was a very kind and wise man. I went to him for advice on everything. We were very, very close and words can't express how much I miss him." - Kaye Rowell Killough
"Uncle Donnie was also well liked and was a very good barber. He was very precise and because he was he was extremely slow. We always laughingly said if you were in a hurry for a haircut don't let Uncle Donnie cut it because you would be in his chair forever. He and Dad both had infectious smiles. Their entire face would light up when they smiled." - Wayne Rowell
Donnie moved to Charlotte, NC in 1941. He cut hair for more than 50 years. He started cutting hair as a boy growing up on a farm. The following is from a newspaper article on Donnie from 2004:
"I used to cut my daddy's hair. My brother was a barber and he had some tools laying around." he said.
After serving in the army, Rowell went to barber school in Winston-Salem.
"When I started out I wasn't very good." he said. He recalled one day when he messed up a customer's hairstyle.
"Back then no one had their hair cut in a straight line across the back of their necks. It was tapered. Well, one day I was kinda trying to watch the fella cutting hair next to me, to see how he did it. I tried it, but the more I tried to work with it, the more I messed it up. The other barber sent me to the bathroom and fixed it."
Rowell has owned 4 barber shops in Charlotte since 1949. His current shop has a 1968 Coca-Cola ice box which he gives customers 6-ounce drinks, a barber chair from the 1950's and black and white photographs of his old shops from the 1940's.
He met his wife, Becky, while cutting hair in August 1947. "She'd come in to get her hair cut in the beauty shop in back, and since I was in the first chair, I'd hold the door open for her."
They were married eight months after they met.
The biggest barrier Rowell said he had to overcome occurred in the early 1960's.
"It was strange, everyone started wearing long hair. Before that, people had it short, just enough to comb it. They would come in every week or two to get it cut. When long hair was in, you'd have to cut and cut for 30 minutes, and they wouldn't come back for three months. That's why so many shops closed in the '60's."
"Daddy was a very kind and wise man. I went to him for advice on everything. We were very, very close and words can't express how much I miss him." - Kaye Rowell Killough
"Uncle Donnie was also well liked and was a very good barber. He was very precise and because he was he was extremely slow. We always laughingly said if you were in a hurry for a haircut don't let Uncle Donnie cut it because you would be in his chair forever. He and Dad both had infectious smiles. Their entire face would light up when they smiled." - Wayne Rowell
Youngest son of Willie and Sallie Boyd Rowell Rowell and the twin of Dorothy Rowell McMillan. Donnie married (1) Rebecca Helms on March 7, 1948, and (2) Doretha Floyd on Jul 18, 1998.
Donnie moved to Charlotte, NC in 1941. He cut hair for more than 50 years. He started cutting hair as a boy growing up on a farm. The following is from a newspaper article on Donnie from 2004:
"I used to cut my daddy's hair. My brother was a barber and he had some tools laying around." he said.
After serving in the army, Rowell went to barber school in Winston-Salem.
"When I started out I wasn't very good." he said. He recalled one day when he messed up a customer's hairstyle.
"Back then no one had their hair cut in a straight line across the back of their necks. It was tapered. Well, one day I was kinda trying to watch the fella cutting hair next to me, to see how he did it. I tried it, but the more I tried to work with it, the more I messed it up. The other barber sent me to the bathroom and fixed it."
Rowell has owned 4 barber shops in Charlotte since 1949. His current shop has a 1968 Coca-Cola ice box which he gives customers 6-ounce drinks, a barber chair from the 1950's and black and white photographs of his old shops from the 1940's.
He met his wife, Becky, while cutting hair in August 1947. "She'd come in to get her hair cut in the beauty shop in back, and since I was in the first chair, I'd hold the door open for her."
They were married eight months after they met.
The biggest barrier Rowell said he had to overcome occurred in the early 1960's.
"It was strange, everyone started wearing long hair. Before that, people had it short, just enough to comb it. They would come in every week or two to get it cut. When long hair was in, you'd have to cut and cut for 30 minutes, and they wouldn't come back for three months. That's why so many shops closed in the '60's."
"Daddy was a very kind and wise man. I went to him for advice on everything. We were very, very close and words can't express how much I miss him." - Kaye Rowell Killough
"Uncle Donnie was also well liked and was a very good barber. He was very precise and because he was he was extremely slow. We always laughingly said if you were in a hurry for a haircut don't let Uncle Donnie cut it because you would be in his chair forever. He and Dad both had infectious smiles. Their entire face would light up when they smiled." - Wayne Rowell
Donnie moved to Charlotte, NC in 1941. He cut hair for more than 50 years. He started cutting hair as a boy growing up on a farm. The following is from a newspaper article on Donnie from 2004:
"I used to cut my daddy's hair. My brother was a barber and he had some tools laying around." he said.
After serving in the army, Rowell went to barber school in Winston-Salem.
"When I started out I wasn't very good." he said. He recalled one day when he messed up a customer's hairstyle.
"Back then no one had their hair cut in a straight line across the back of their necks. It was tapered. Well, one day I was kinda trying to watch the fella cutting hair next to me, to see how he did it. I tried it, but the more I tried to work with it, the more I messed it up. The other barber sent me to the bathroom and fixed it."
Rowell has owned 4 barber shops in Charlotte since 1949. His current shop has a 1968 Coca-Cola ice box which he gives customers 6-ounce drinks, a barber chair from the 1950's and black and white photographs of his old shops from the 1940's.
He met his wife, Becky, while cutting hair in August 1947. "She'd come in to get her hair cut in the beauty shop in back, and since I was in the first chair, I'd hold the door open for her."
They were married eight months after they met.
The biggest barrier Rowell said he had to overcome occurred in the early 1960's.
"It was strange, everyone started wearing long hair. Before that, people had it short, just enough to comb it. They would come in every week or two to get it cut. When long hair was in, you'd have to cut and cut for 30 minutes, and they wouldn't come back for three months. That's why so many shops closed in the '60's."
"Daddy was a very kind and wise man. I went to him for advice on everything. We were very, very close and words can't express how much I miss him." - Kaye Rowell Killough
"Uncle Donnie was also well liked and was a very good barber. He was very precise and because he was he was extremely slow. We always laughingly said if you were in a hurry for a haircut don't let Uncle Donnie cut it because you would be in his chair forever. He and Dad both had infectious smiles. Their entire face would light up when they smiled." - Wayne Rowell
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