On a rainy morning, on Rua da Liberdade, in São João da Madeira, Mr. Agídio Oliveira looked nervously out the window, waiting for the first customer of the day. Its barber shop, the Golden Hall, located at door # 62, had recently opened on the first day of October 1959 and this type of anxiety was to be expected. At the same time, on the other side of the street, some driver was having a hard time bringing a car to a garage. White smoke was coming out of the radiator and the suspensions made a sound of distrust. Mr. Agídio would put some brushes in place when he saw a mechanic looking at his watch, exchanging words with the unfortunate driver, and gesturing toward his establishment. The latter ran his hand through his hair and promptly made his way to the Golden Hall.
This is just one example of how synergies have developed on Rua da Liberdade. The various businesses benefit from both the great movement of the street and the full range of services available. The Salão Dourado grew, however, also on the merit of its owner. He began, like so many other boys, to help his father, more specifically to make shoes. He later worked at the Farmácia Central. He made medicines and ointments, as well as the occasional errand. It was, however, his father who suggested the profession of barber, something that pleased the future owner of the Salão Dourado. He worked for ten years in a barbershop, beginning humbly by undoing beards and progressing until he became a master of the comb and scissors. Again encouraged by his father, he began to consider having an establishment of his own.
The opportunity came with Molaflex, a mattress factory that had its entrance on Rua da Liberdade. Since the nineteenth century, São João da Madeira had become a hub of industrialization and development, and factories were gradually moving to the outskirts of the city. The same happened to Molaflex and Mr. Agídio, seeing the space converted into a hall, took the opportunity. With some help from the café El Dourado, who kindly gave up some chairs, the Salão Dourado, became a reality. This busy barber shop did not have, however, the name defined on the day of its inauguration. The name came when Mr. Agídio asked a client if he had an idea to baptize the establishment. Our young barber had been blond hair from the cradle, and the client suggested 'Salão Dourado (Golden Saloon).' It was a simple but effective association. Before long, the establishment had gained a reputation and prestige, so that it needed to hire four staff to meet the demand.
Since then, this establishment has witnessed the many stories of the population of São João de Madeira, but sometimes the stories come to us and without realizing it, we are part of them. Let me explain: the Salão Dourado had a space that was not used, a small basement. At the request of the president of the camping club of São João da Madeira, some meetings were held there ... until PIDE, the police state by the time of the dictatorship, accused Mr. Agídio of harboring members of the communist party to hold secret meetings, threatening to close the barbershop. At last, after the fortunately enlightened misunderstandings, our illustrious barber saw the unfolding of the story and continues here to tell. Such an episode is one among many that have already passed between the four walls of the Salão Dourado. São João da Madeira has suffered, through the ages, numerous transformations, however the art of our master of the scissors has been and will be a constant. He himself concedes that times have changed a little. Shaving the hair now seems to be more common, while decades ago it would be seen almost as a punishment. The people, impelled by the rush of the day to day no longer talk so much in their saloon. The gloss of the brilliantine has been replaced by the matte of other products, but life goes on! The Golden Hall has modernized and Mr. Agídio is now a true and undeniable bulwark of the capillary fashions and life of the locals.
