A Cut Above by Andrew Tallackson He Voice on the Other End of the Line Was the Ret Thatcher
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THE TM 911 Franklin Street Weekly Newspaper Michigan City, IN 46360 Volume 36, Number 1 Thursday, January 9, 2020 A Cut Above by Andrew Tallackson he voice on the other end of the line was the ret Thatcher. The United Kingdom’s prime minister concierge at Four Seasons Hotel Chicago. In from 1979 to 1990. Tthree months time, Bob Nygren’s services Nygren was thrilled...but there was one hitch. He would be required, for fi ve days, at 8:30 a.m. each didn’t roll hair. He was trained in the Vidal Sassoon morning. precision cut, which requires an exact shape and The client? Of the highest order. technique. He took a mannequin home and prac- It was 2003. Nygren was a celebrated hairdresser ticed for two weeks, consulting an older hairdresser at TRIO Salon, 712 N. Wabash Ave. Clearly, if he for guidance. was being summoned by the concierge at the Four When the week arrived, the Four Seasons served Seasons, his reputation was impeccable. as home base for the Chicago leg of Thatcher’s tour. And the client? “The Iron Lady” herself. Marga- Each morning, he left home in Michigan City early to arrive in time for the 8:30 a.m. styling session. Preparing the former prime minister each day took 90 minutes. Was he intimidated? After the initial jitters, no. “It’s amazing, how many con- versations you can have with the former prime minister of England,” Nygren says with a hearty laugh. “She was not short of opinions. Every day was an education. We talked about (former U.S. President Ronald) Reagan, China, the pound, Africa.” By the end of the fi ve days, Thatcher told Nygren to con- tact her if he should visit Lon- don. She could be reached at House of Lords of the United Kingdom. Nygren never made it to London. Nor had he expe- rienced anything like his time with Thatcher. “I grew, tremendously,” he said. “I learned how to set hair and,” he pauses, adding with a chuckle, “converse with an in- ternational icon.” Bob Nygren is photographed with former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher during her 2003 tour. Continued on Page 2 THE Page 2 January 9, 2020 THE 911 Franklin Street • Michigan City, IN 46360 219/879-0088 • FAX 219/879-8070 Beacher Company Directory e-mail: News/Articles - [email protected] Don and Tom Montgomery Owners email: Classifieds - [email protected] Andrew Tallackson Editor http://www.thebeacher.com/ Drew White Print Salesman PRINTE ITH Published and Printed by Janet Baines Inside Sales/Customer Service T Becky Wirebaugh Typesetter/Designer T A S A THE BEACHER BUSINESS PRINTERS Randy Kayser Pressman Dora Kayser Bindery Delivered weekly, free of charge to Birch Tree Farms, Duneland Beach, Grand Beach, Hidden Shores, Long Beach, Michiana Shores, Michiana MI and Shoreland Hills. The Beacher is Hope Costello, Cheryl Joppek, Production also delivered to public places in Michigan City, New Buffalo, LaPorte and Sheridan Beach. John Baines, Karen Gehr, Dennis Mayberry Delivery hairdresser in Merrillville. He owned his own salon A Cut Above Continued from Page 1 in the Long Beach area, Tinker’s Dam to be specifi c, from 1978 to 1983. But it was his seven-year experi- o say that Bob “Thor” Nygren has led a sto- ence through Vidal Sassoon in Chicago that escalat- ried life is putting it mildly. His career saw ed his talent, and reputation, into the big leagues. him cross paths not just with Thatcher, but A career that would span not just TRIO, but also T Chicago’s Maxine Salon, 712 N. Rush St., and South also fi ve-time Oscar nominated director Robert Alt- man and his wife, Kathryn Reed, as well as Univer- Bend’s Salon Rouge, 2027 S. Bend Ave. He alternat- sity of Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly. ed between the two while living with Grace in their Today, however, Nygren and his wife of 35 years, Duneland Beach home. Grace, face seemingly insurmountable challenges. When he speaks of the profession, his love of it is A series of strokes that began in 2016 ended his vi- more akin to that of a sculptor or architect: someone brant career. In 2018, the circulation in his legs, af- who enjoys the precision, the mechanics, of cutting fected by the strokes, led to the amputation of his and shaping. left leg, up to the upper half of his thigh. Financial It was at Salon Rouge, by the way, that he cut stress took its toll, the couple forced to sell their Brian Kelly’s hair for more than a year. The Notre home and deplete their savings and 401(k). Dame coach, he says, is a gentle, humorous man. What the Nygrens have experienced is devastat- “Very intense, too,” he says. “Very focused on his ing, but this ultimately is not a story about tragedy. team. He’d talk games and strategy.” It is about something more profound than that. The He met Kathryn Reed, Robert Altman’s wife, most primal of all emotions. Love. while the acclaimed director was in Chicago shoot- onsidering the chain of events that began in ing 2003’s behind-the scenes ballet drama “The 2016, Nygren remains exceeding- Cly amiable, a good-natured fellow who speaks of life, his enduring marriage and recent health issues in a direct, no- nonsense manner. He was born in Michigan City, the mid- dle child among four boys and two girls. A 1973 Rogers High School graduate, he attended University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., his initial desire to study marketing. Then, Warren Beatty’s dark comedy “Shampoo” was released in 1975, and that altered the course of his life. Not the fact that Beatty’s hairdresser sleeps with his clients, to be clear, but the busi- ness side of the equation. “It was strange, I know, because when I decided to become a hairdresser, it was certainly inspired by the fi lm,” he said, “the fact that he was an entrepreneur and in control of his life.” He attended beauty school in South Bend, where he earned the nickname “Thor.” He was among two Roberts attend- ing at the time, so they used his middle name, Thor, to differentiate between them. Nygren subsequently found work as a Bob undergoes therapy to adjust to his new prosthesis. THE January 9, 2020 Page 3 Company” with Neve Campbell and James Franco. A letter dated Aug. 20, 2003, to Nygren from Kath- ryn begins in clear adoration with “Oh, Thor Thor Thor.” Later, it states, “Bob’s fi lm, ‘The Company,’ Duneland Home & Pro Hardware premiers (sic) at the Toronto Film Festival Septem- Duneland Home Design Center & Showroom ber 8!! So we will be there receiving all your positive Duneland Home Remodeling vibrations — I thank you in advance!!” 1018 N. Karwick Rd. “Karwick Plaza” • Michigan City, IN 46360 “Open 7 Days” How does one become adored at such lofty levels? 219-878-1720 Store • 219-878-9141 Fax A respected stylist, Bob says, is about more than email: [email protected] just the cuts themselves. He/she develops strong rapport with clients. Nygren says he was a good lis- Let us help make tener to begin with, but a stylist in many ways ends up being a confi dant. Psychiatrist. Priest. You name your new house... it. “It’s all about listening,” he says. “For me, it’s not your new Home!!! about me. It’s about them.” ob met Grace when she was 23. She was at- tending art school in Philadelphia and home Bat the time for Christmas vacation. She was MATERIAL / PRODUCT SELECTION seated in a dentist’s chair, having her teeth cleaned by Dr. Jerome Timm when he asked if she’d be inter- Kitchen & Bath Cabinets ested in a date with a young man he knew. Grace’s Counter Tops parents and Bob’s parents both attended Queen of All Saints Catholic Church. Timm was a member Custom Closets of the parish and its Consulation Choir. And, ironi- Carpeting cally, it was during a Christmas concert at Queen of All Saints that Bob fi rst noticed Grace, who was Ceramic Tile singing in the choir. One of her siblings, as siblings are prone to do, was trying to make her laugh dur- Waterproof Flooring ing the concert. The effect, ironically, worked its Wood Flooring magic on Bob. Window Blinds Plantation Shutters Complete Pro Hardware Store CONTRACTOR SERVICES FROM DUNELAND HOME REMODELING Kitchen and Bath Remodeling Flooring Installation Interior/Exterior Painting Roofi ng/Siding/Window Installation & Sales Room Additions Bob and Grace are photographed together. Deck Building/Screen Porches “I saw a smile I wanted to meet,” he says of Grace. Unfortunately, Grace left after the concert and Deck Refi nishing/Power Washing was not present for the ensuing time of fellowship. That, however, didn’t stop Bob, who obtained her Handyman Services phone number and asked her out on a date. And More... The rest, as they say, is history. The two have four children, all boys. The journey the two have shared, they say, has been “magical.” And Grace’s admira- GET GREAT PRO SERVICE … AT A GREAT PRO PRICE... tion for her husband’s talents as a hairdresser is OPEN 7 DAYS boundless. Continued on Page 4 THE Page 4 January 9, 2020 sentences. A Cut Above Continued from Page 3 Physically, emo- tionally, fi nan- “When Thor cut your hair,” Grace said, “people cially and spiritu- would stop you on the street and say, ‘Where did you ally, the couple’s get your hair cut?’ It was that Sassoon training.” journey over the And if the client had a migraine that day? Grace past three years says her husband gave head massages so sooth- has been draining.