The Monument Square Barber Shop has been in continual operations since 1886, when the building was erected. A lone, unoccupied chair sits in front of the mirror between refurbished wooden floors and a golden pressed-metal ceiling. From a small radio speaker, Sean Hannity’s voice fills the room. A pair of feet in beige cotton socks peak out from behind a curtain, resting on a chair.

A Specialist E-4 who saw action during the Tet Offensive in Vietnam, Gerry took over the business twenty years ago, when the previous barber retired. “I’m a conservative,” he starts, with a soft and gentle voice.

“It’s going to take a business person like Donald Trump to do it. Somebody who cares about the people and who’s not going to go in there and be self-serving.”

Mozart, his only family, lounges in his lap.

Oshkosh, WI:
• Population: 66,621.
• Per capita income: $21,672.
• 88.8% white, 3.2% black, 3.1% Hispanic, 2.5% Asian, 0.6% Native American.
• Percentage below poverty line: 10.2%
• Home of OshKosh B’gosh.

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