Hunter, Leo Simon
(born: 1911 - died: 1997)Leo S. Hunter, born in Louisville, KY, was a graduate of the University of Louisville. In 1999, two years after his death, Hunter was inducted into the Barbering Hall of Fame, located in Canal Winchester, OH; he was nominated by Kay Jetton, a barbering instructor at West Kentucky Community and Technical College. Hunter was the first inductee from Kentucky and the fourth African American.
In 1941, Hunter had been asked by Moneta J. Sleet, Sr. to start a barbering program at West Kentucky State Vocational School in Paducah, KY [now West Kentucky Community and Technical College]; Sleet was the school's business manager.
Hunter had started to learn barbering when he was 11-years old. He designed the program at West Kentucky State and trained his first class of students, then left the school to serve in the Army during World War II and the barbering program was dropped. He returned in the 1950s and re-established the barbering program and also owned a barber shop.
For more see J. Blythe, "Kentucky barbering teacher named to hall of fame," The Paducah Sun, 10/06/1999; and his entry in the Barbering Hall of Fame.