Letter to the Editor: A tale of two sisters

It all started with a terrible hair day on a fantastic fall Friday afternoon a couple of years back. I was walking home everyday from Clarke Middle School, where I used to work at the time. On Fridays I generally would take a long detour and stroll through our Lexington town center. I had a wonderful day with my students at Clarke and I was ready to enjoy a lovely weekend. There was just one issue: my unruly waves of my hair. The sticking point of all my happiness. Fall gusty wind was all over my hair and most of my vision was blurry with my hair in my eyes. As I just crossed the Upper Crust Pizza area, I saw a small, neatly tucked-in place called “Nefertiti.” Being an ancient history buff, I was well aware of ancient Egypt and queen Nefertiti. This name for a salon attracted me greatly. I also became quite determined to trim my hair so the next gust of the wind could not blind me anymore. I entered the unknown salon with a lot of confusion and trepidation. 

At the other side of the door, there was a small, happy world waiting for me. As I entered, I heard familiar music gently playing in the surrounding speakers and a lady, sitting at the front desk with a benevolent smile, welcomed me. I sat on a chair and waited my turn as the hairdresser was finishing up with another lady. The silence was awkward. Being one hundred percent chatty, I asked the front lady her name and how long they had been running the business in Lexington. This was a turning point in our conversation. Susan Fontano mentioned they are about to hit a half-century mark in a couple of years. This jaw-dropping news simply compelled me to stand up off of my cozy chair. I could see the twinkling in her eyes, and we started speaking about everything that this small salon had witnessed in our town of Lexington. Then came Jo-Ann Fontano, the proprietor lady with magic scissors and an equally charming personality, like her sister.

The three of us forgot about why I came there in the first place, diving deep into our storytelling saga. Two hours passed and a fall evening, with all its enchantment, was about to cover the whole center. We kept on chatting and I came to know a lot about Jo-Ann. She is a star-certified hair stylist, a cosmetologist, and an instructor of beautician courses. Sisters Jo-Ann and Susan have run this salon from day one, together. What really made me pleasantly surprised was that these two sisters stuck with each other for 48 years in a business, through thick and thin. There are a lot of unanswered questions in my mind: How did they maintain this unwavering passion to serve the clients for this long, to stay together in a business without conflicts?

Three years have since passed. I changed my school from Clarke to Bridge. I still walk every day and on periodic Fridays, I still go there for a fantastic new look! My personal connection has deepend with these two sisters over the years. They feel for my sorrows and they feel overjoyed for my every little happiness. When I informed them that I would love to do a writeup with LexObserver to highlight their service to Lexington, Jo-Ann said something which I would love to quote here: “I love my profession and my craft. Every day is a new day. I look forward to meeting exciting people. This is our second home.” She loves the history of this town — the fact that Lexington remains the hub for world tourism, where people come from all over the world. Her older sister, Susan, remains the pillar of her strength to date. They thanked their landlord Mr. Jeff Lyons for accommodating them all of these years. Their website is nefertitihairsalon.com.