26" x 29"

Vidalia sits patiently hold her miror while Cornelia in her  soft braids arranges her sister's wiry afro with a real comb. Their jewelry and beads prove they're planning a big night out.

     CORNELIA HONEYSUCKLE WILLIAMS

           Cornelia owns a beauty parlor in Vinton, Louisiana called HONEYSUCKLE’S FRONT PORCH HAIR SPOT.  On her business card under the shop’s name are the words: Let me do your doo. Not only will you look fine, you will smell sweet as honeysuckle wine.

 That is why everyone calls her Honeysuckle. 

She does good business.  Good enough to be featured in the local paper as one of the up and coming beauty parlors in the area, a new local talent.  She mostly caters to blacks but has quite a white following as well, especially after fixing the hair of the lady her mother works for.  People even come from Lake Charles and Beaumont to have their hair done.  Business has been so good that she is thinking of moving to Houston, and opening business with her good friend and younger sister, Vidalia. 

She’s always done hair.  Growing up the oldest of 7 girls she was the one that had to fix their hair.  She did this on the front porch of her shotgun house since there was no room inside.  They would place a few straight back chairs on the porch, turn the window fan around to cool them off and have some cold drinks in the ice chest for sale.  Her front porch was a busy place on Saturday mornings with girls sitting about the yard laughing and teasing each other and gossiping about whom was stepping out with whom.   Music would be on and some would dance alone or together. Friends started asking her to do their hair as well.  At first she did it for free but eventually started charging them.  Boys began hanging out and she even began fixing their hair too.  Mostly shaving their heads. 

Cornelia was making good money every weekend.   All ages began hanging out.  Some young girls came wanting to look especially nice while they stepped out to local clubs on Saturday night.   The older ladies came because they needed a new style for Sunday morning church.  Most came because it was the place to hang out.  Of course Cornelia had to go to the white ladies houses until one got the nerve to have hers done on the front porch.  There was gossip at first but gradually other white ladies began coming to Cornelia. 

Now Honeysuckle’s Front Porch Hair Spot is the happening place for everyone. 

You are looking at Honeysuckle working on her sister Vidalia’s hair at their new location in Houston.  She rented a shotgun house near the upscale area of the town with a front porch and plants everywhere.  She even has straight back chairs, a fan in the front window facing the porch and a cooler of drinks.  It has become the “in” thing to have your hair done on the front porch of Honeysuckle’s Front Porch Hair Spot although there is the option to be indoors under air conditioning. 

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