New Geneva shop owner aims to be a cut above

It doesn't take long to figure out why Dan Quane chose the name Sportsmans Barbershop for his new business at 107 W. State St. in Geneva.

The men's barbershop is adorned with fishing and hunting décor amid the traditional barber pole and other features that tell you where Quane's interests lie.

"I've always called my shops 'Sportsmans Barbershop' and it has worked for 40 years," said Quane, who has operated shops in Winfield and his native Ireland.

"I had a shop in Ballingcollig, Ireland, and that name stands for 'Village of the Pig,' " Quane says with a laugh.

Up until a couple of months ago, when he opened his Geneva shop, Quane spent as many as five months a year in Ireland, where he had lived or spent much of his time the past 40 years. But he also has spent many years in the Chicago area and served in the military in Vietnam.

His family moved to Geneva two years ago, and it didn't take him long to decide to delay his retirement and become the latest entry among the Tri-Cities' traditional downtown barbershops such as City Barber Shop in Geneva, Stosh's in Batavia, and the trio of Avenue Two, Wes's Barber Shop and Berry's Barber Shop in St. Charles.

"It's been going great so far," Quane said. "I am starting to build up that repeat business you have to have.

"About 25 haircuts a day is a busy day for a barber, and I am not there yet, but this is the kind of business that attracts a family, so a father and his sons could come here together."

Quane has three chairs in his shop and another barber, Eric Fielding. He plans to add a third barber in the near future.

Quane said that he and his wife Grace, who also is from Ireland, have fallen in love with Geneva.

"This is our favorite town of all that we have been in," Quane said. "It's been truly fascinating with the reception we've gotten and how welcoming people are in this community."

Quane's shop is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

For the hungry: Wynette Edwards knows her network isn't involved in "Dumpster diving," but it sure saves a lot of food from being wasted and tossed into those trash bins.

"There is an enormous amount of food destined for the Dumpster, unless we can get to it and get it in the hands of those who need it," said Edwards, a member of Calvary Episcopal Church in Batavia and the point person for the Hunger Resource Network's reach into the Fox Valley.

Edwards said students at Waubonsee Community College have helped create a database and Web site for the Hunger Resource Network, which provides the communication tools for businesses with spare food to get that food to area food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters.

"We are not out to establish new pantries or kitchens," Edwards said. "They are out there, but they operate with small crews and they don't have the time to go and find these food supplies."

As an example, Edwards said if the network discovers that a company has two truckloads of apples available, it can quickly find out who can use those apples.

Network members will hold a meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Calvary Episcopal, 222 S. Batavia Ave., to explain how individuals can help their program and how it fits in with the many organizations in the Fox Valley feeding the hungry.

More information is available at hungerresourcenetwork.org. or by calling Edwards at (630) 715-1434 or by e-mail at wynette@hungerresource.org.

For the dachshunds: "I couldn't believe how many people we had in our cul-de-sac," Roberta Merwin said.

That turned out to be a good thing, however, because Merwin was talking about last weekend's multiple-family garage sale in the Timbers subdivision in St. Charles to raise money for the Midwest Dachshund Rescue for homeless dachshunds.

"We made $1,850, and that will provide a lot of bedding for the dogs," said Merwin, who organized the event and has been a foster care provider for a homeless dachshund. "We were blessed with great weather and did really well."

Merwin said several good foster care prospects filled out applications to take in homeless dogs, and she is hoping the momentum will carry on to other rescue events.

The organization's biggest fundraiser is from 1 to 4 p.m. May 15 at the Dog Spot, 909 Ogden Ave. in Downers Grove, where the "Crosstown Bark Around" will be held with a Cubs-Sox baseball theme.

More information about the organization and its events is available at MWDR.org.

For breast cancer fight: Those folks knocking down shots of corn schnapps last Sunday at the Claddagh Irish Pub in the Geneva Commons were doing so for a worthy cause - and maybe the record books.

The "Shot for Breast Cancer" fundraiser, in which more than 100 participants signed up at Claddagh for a $7 shot of schnapps, was held to benefit The National Breast Cancer Support Network.

The 15 Claddagh locations throughout the area were involved, said Claddagh marketing manager Anne Arroyo, and each had between 100 and 200 participants involved.

"We raised $500 at our Geneva location alone," Arroyo added.

That was only the half of it. The event was held in such a way that as soon as each participant in Geneva had completed a shot, the call was made to the next Claddagh location to start their process.

"It was kind of like dominoes," Arroyo said. "That way, we were able to send all of our information to Guinness, because we did it exactly how they requested, so I am thinking we set a record."

The record for the "Largest Shot Slam" was set by 3,000 participants at an event in Germany in 2007.

dheun@sbcglobal.net