OAK LAWN, Ill. —

When Tom Grochowski became a barber, flattops and crew cuts were all the rage.

He survived the long hair of the late 1960s and 1970s, rode the gravy train of the economic boom during the ’80s, now has a steady clientele and celebrated a milestone on a recent Sunday: The 70-year-old Alsip, Illinois, resident marked 50 years as a barber.

Grochowski didn’t cut hair that day because he’s off on Sundays, but he was back at it at 9 a.m. the following Tuesday, ready to cut the hair of regulars or any first-timers who venture into Mr. G’s Ranch Barber Shop in the Ranch Manor shopping center in Oak Lawn.

Tucked in the back, it’s kind of hard to find the shop, but the regulars know where it’s at. Mr. G’s has been at that location for 15 years, when it moved from next door. Grochowski bought the shop in 1971 and is a survivor.

“I can think of 67 businesses that have been in this shopping center,” he said.

Grochowski will hit another milestone in October when he and wife Sara celebrate their 50th anniversary. They have five children, 10 grandchildren and four step-grandchildren, he said. Cutting hair must be good for one’s health. Grochowski looks 10 years younger than his age.

His feet do bother him these days — “there’s no padding left” — and his back tends to stiffen up when he sits too long, so a job that has him standing all day is OK with him.

He used to work with three other barbers in the shop’s heyday, “but now it’s just me.” There used to be more barber shops, Grochowski said, but hair salons and national chains have made things tougher on the traditional, locally-owned shop.

“The ’70s were hard. I used to give haircuts to guys who’d pay me later because they were going for job interviews,” he said. “The ’80s were probably the best. Everybody had jobs, and people were more generous.”

Yet, he said, he has always had a reliable base of customers, some of whom drive in from distant Chicago suburbs for a haircut.

As if on cue, Tony Rappold, 54, and son Billy, 13, of Chicago’s Mount Greenwood community, strolled in for haircuts about 9:30 a.m. on a recent day. Both wanted shorter hair, convinced that the warm weather was here to stay in the Chicago area.

Rappold, a teacher and assistant basketball coach at Hillcrest High School, has been coming to Grochowski for 20 years.

“Excellent service. He’s a good man. Never a bad haircut,” Rappold said. “Fifty years. That’s amazing, isn’t it?”

With a smile, Grochowski said, “I just follow the same mistakes I made last time. You can’t go wrong.”

He decided to be a barber because “I had some artistic talent and I have a bad back.” A crushed vertebrae from a childhood fall from a second-floor window is to blame for his inability to sit long comfortably.

“I used to stand 10, 12 hours in the old days before I shortened my hours,” he said.

Grochowski has a laminated sheet of paper, with names and numbers on both sides, of his regulars. There’s one guy who comes in every week, lest his hair look unkempt.

“He has very short hair. But he’s here at 3:20 every Thursday. I’ve got a young guy who’s here every 12 days. He gets a haircut like they had in the ’20s, really skinned on the side and a lot longer on top but real tight,” Grochowski said.

He laughs when he recalls his oddest request.

“A kid came in one time, a long time ago. Haircuts were probably five bucks. He said all he had was $2. He said he wanted a mohawk. I said, ‘Sit down. For $2 you’ve got a mohawk,’” Grochowski said.

Just stepping into the shop is a treat, with Chicago pro sports memorabilia on the walls and photos of former Cubs players such as Andy Pafko and Don Kessinger. A framed photo of “my mentor” — Floyd the barber from the old “Andy Griffith Show” — hangs over the ancient cash register that’s beside a jar of pretzels for the kids. A photo of Mike Ditka is found in the bathroom.

Near the plate-glass window in front sits a box of children’s books, and a rack filled with sports and news magazines. You won’t find any with centerfolds, a staple of some barbershops years ago.

“They used to mail me Playboys, but I’ve got such a family business, I threw them all out,” Grochowski said.

No, he doesn’t make book, another barbershop tradition of days gone by, but he knew barbers who did years ago to cover their losses betting on the ponies.

When he retires, Grochowski said he will most miss his customers — even the guys who ask him to save cut hair. They say they spread it on paths used by deer, hoping that the human scent will steer the creatures closer to their stands and rifles during hunting season.

“I do enjoy the people. And they don’t want me to retire because barbers are hard to find,” he said. “You’ve got to retire sometime. I’m 70 now, may as well hang it up soon. I was going to retire at 66, and I’m still cutting hair.

“I wouldn’t mind splitting the business with someone and work two days a week. I may try to find a barber who wants a good business. I’ll sell it to him. But I’d miss it.”