Local Businesses--Heart of a Small Town

Grant County Journal
January 31, 2011
Local businesses—heart of a small town
Written by Janet Warren

It happened one windy night in Ephrata, 18 to 20 years ago, about the same time Safeway started staying open 24 hours (as if that wasn’t excitement enough). Leslie Underwood-Hovland, owner of Leslie’s Level Cut had come down to her shop to rearrange the fans placed to dry out carpet that had been cleaned earlier in the day. While she was there she thought she’d throw a little purple rinse on her hair and spend a few minutes in the tanning bed listening to music. A relaxing end to a hectic day, she thought, as she discarded her layers of clothing, one by one, like a trail of breadcrumbs leading to the back room. After awhile, she thought she heard a noise. “Oh no, did I forget to lock the door?” Leslie thought as she began to panic. She got out of the tanning bed and carefully peeked her head around the door looking straight into the drawn firearm of Officer Dan Bohnet, one of Ephrata’s finest. “Dan, do you think I could get my clothes on while you finish yelling at me?” Leslie politely asked.
After Leslie dressed she found not only Officer Bohnet in her shop, but other police officers, her landlord, and her son. She thinks there may have even been emergency response personnel. “You know when parents are so relieved to find out you’re okay they want to kill you? Well, that’s the kind of mad Dan was,” Leslie explained. “Didn’t you hear the alarm, Leslie?” Dan shouted. She was in the tanning bed, with the music cranked up, so no, she did not hear the alarm.
The alarm, it turns out, was due to a door being left unlocked at Ace Hardware. The wind blew it slightly open and set off the alarm, then the door closed and the alarm stopped; opened, alarm… closed, no alarm. You get the picture. When police arrived, there were no cars in the parking lot except Leslie’s. They looked in the window and saw her clothes on the floor and thought for sure this was going to end badly. “For years, Dan couldn’t even look me in the eyes for fear he would start cracking up,” Leslie said. Sergeant Bohnet was unavailable for comment, but I couldn’t let him retire next month without telling this story. You’re welcome, Dan.
Leslie has been a small business owner in Ephrata for over 30 years. Her father worked as an electrician in many projects in the Pacific Northwest, including the construction of the dams on the Columbia River. Leslie enrolled in beauty school in Wenatchee, but when she graduated in the 70s, the country was in a recession. She saw an ad for a hairstylist in Ephrata at Jane’s Beauty Shop, so Leslie ran up to Ephrata to see what she had to offer. By the time she left to go back to Wenatchee, she had a job, a house rented, and a babysitter hired. “I am grateful for that first job;” Leslie said, “Jane really taught me to work.”
Leslie’s father died in 1978 and left her $5,000. With that money, she began her own business, something she and her father had talked about. His only request was that she use “Leslie” as part of the business name. Many names were batted around by Leslie and her friends, but they settled on Leslie’s Level Cut. With her father gone, many people stepped into Leslie’s life and became her go-to people. Jim Deer helped her buy a home and Steve Billingslee assisted her in getting a reliable car. Les Parr was instrumental in Leslie’s business start up.
Nels Hansen and Lowell Moore were on Leslie’s board of directors and supported her. Nels became Leslie’s mentor. She said he always asked her the same question: “Well, now Leslie—is that something you can do anything about? Then don’t worry about it. Only deal with stuff you can do something about.” We all need to take that advice.
Leslie said Ephrata is a goldmine of quality people. Even though she had many opportunities to leave over the years, she chose to stay and raise her children here. “There was great support for a single mom here in Ephrata,” Leslie said. All three of Leslie’s children helped out in the shop by emptying garbage, folding towels, and sweeping hair. Her son Randy (who is married to Randi) still lives in Ephrata and is his mom’s right-hand man when it comes to repairing things in the shop. They have two daughters, Jayme and Haley. Leslie’s daughter Chelsey also lives here with her daughter Hayden. Leslie’s other daughter, Lynette, lives in Seattle.
Leslie credits much of her success to her 10 years of being involved with Washington State Hair Fashion Committee. She was taught the latest techniques in hair fashion and sent out to teach them in salons in the Pacific Northwest, usually on a Sunday and Monday so she could continue working her own salon. She considered it a great opportunity for free education which she in turn gifted to other people.
I was curious about the differences between when she first opened her business and now. “In the beginning,” Leslie said, “I had shampoo sets all day, and most of my clients I saw every week. Now it’s changed to more clients wanting a good cut and color and I see them once a month. I have more men now, too. They want to be able to make an appointment and get in and out.” Another difference Leslie sees is that her geographic base has changed. In the beginning her clients were mainly from Coulee City and Ephrata. Now they come from Ephrata, Coulee City, Quincy, Moses Lake, Hartline, Almira, Wilbur, and Grand Coulee. Leslie attributes that to Ephrata becoming a destination point with the building of Wal-Mart, Rite-Aid and Safeway.
Leslie has been in business so long, she is now cutting hair of a third generation, but she doesn’t think she will ever retire. “Why should I retire? I love what I do and I love my clients. You can’t ask for a better profession to be able to schedule around other things you want to do.” Here’s to another 30 years, Leslie.
This column is the first in my series on small business owners. I will try to feature one every month.