On November 13th of 2021, John Henry got a call from his wife saying his barber shop was on fire. “She said, babe we got a problem,” Henry said.
Henry’s wife is the Deputy Chief of the Orlando Police Department. She was working at the Electric Daisy Carnival that night. Henry’s wife continued, “There’s a fire in the barbershop.” She added, “Take your time. Don’t rush. There’s nothing you can do about it, but you need to come down to the barbershop.”
Henry said, It was devastating.
When Henry arrived, he said the streets were blocked off with yellow tape and it looked like a movie scene. As Henry stood and looked at what was left of his business, members of the community stood with him. Henry said he heard people in the background shouting words of support. “We’re praying for you,” said one person in the crowd. “It’s going to be alright,” said another.
The fire was determined to be caused by faulty wiring.
Henry said the words of encouragement he heard from the crowd the night of the fire still echo in his spirit to this day.
Henry started working at the barbershop in 1991. He became the owner of the barbershop just 3 years later. A staple in the community, his business has survived all of the downtown changes. Henry embraced those changes he saw over the years.
With support from the city, county and most of all his community, Henry said he stayed motivated, prayed-up and in good spirits.
He received encouraging letters and cards, with money inside, from people in the community. Supporters also started a crowdfunding account to help rebuild the barbershop. That support was instrumental in helping Henry to move forward.
When he speaks of the support he has gotten, it’s obvious he is ever so grateful for the massive amounts of support and prayers he has received. He stopped short of continuing on about the support from everyone. He said, “I’m going to stop talking about it so that I don’t cry.”
Henry said his wife is the “wind beneath his wings” because she encouraged him with her assurance that everything would be alright.
And, she was right.
J. Henry’s Barber Shop was rebuilt and the clippers were clipping once again.
To top it off, Henry got a call on March 14th from Mayor Buddy Dyer’s office saying Mayor Dyer wanted to be the first to get his haircut. And sure enough, the mayor was the first to get his hair cut.
“It’s been a real journey for me.” Henry said, “Many people come and go and I’m just grateful to still be here.”
