Local barber celebrates 30 years in business

May 10, 2023

Shireen Clark celebrated her 30th anniversary of owning and operating the Palace Barbershop in Fort Benton last week.

Clark purchased the Front Street business from longtime local barber Tom Hasler on May 3, 1993 when she was 22 years old and has remained in the space in front of The Palace Bar ever since.

Clark hails from Cut Bank, where her local barber inspired her to venture down the road of hair styling.

Clark graduated from Cut Bank High School in 1988, and was eager to begin her new life of independence. She attended Big Sky College of Barber Styling in Missoula - the same school as her childhood barber - and completed the coursework necessary to become a professional barber.

After graduating, Clark moved to Kalispell and worked at a salon for eight months. She then moved to Great Falls to work on the Malmstrom Air Force base for a year and a half.

Clark found her way to Fort Benton on a work trip and instantly fell in love with the river town. The town was in perfect distance to Great Falls and Cut Bank to visit her parents.

Plus, it helped that Fort Benton had a turn-key barbershop for sale; Clark repainted and refinished the cabinets.

Barbers have worked out of the smallspacesince1925.August2025 will be the 100th anniversary of the Palace Barbershop.

Hasler ran the barber shop from 1969 to 1993. He purchased the Palace Bar 1990 and was Clark’s landlord before retiring and selling

the bar in 2014. He passed away three years later in June 2017.

“Tom and his wife were very kind to me,” Clark said.

The barbershop is located off the entrance of the Palace Bar on Front Street with a classic red, white, and blue barber shop pole hanging above the large front window that looks out at the scenic Missouri River.

Clark is open for business when the stripes spiral and her door is open for all to enter. Classic oldies music plays on a radio in the background.

“I was scared to death to run my own business,” Clark said.

However her worries calmed when she realized how loyal her customers were. Some of the first Fort Bentonites she trimmed when first opened are the same clients she sees today.

“I serve three to four generations of some families,” Clark said. “Some of the kids’ hair I’ve cut, I now cut their kids’ hair!”

The majority of Palace Barbershop’s clientele are men, but Clark also cuts hair for women; only simple cuts and blow dries.

“Nothing frou-frou,” Clark said. “I don’t do hair dyes or nail salons.”

Clark accepts walk-in clients, but she can block out an appointment time if anyone needs one. She has only raised her prices four times throughout 30 years in business, currently charging $5 for a beard trim, $6 for bang trim and $17 for a haircut.