Pennington Barber Shop could close for good soon

Don Castaldo: "I’ll have to wait some more before making a final decision"

By John Tredrea
   The Pennington Barber Shop, one of the oldest and best-known businesses in the Hopewell Valley area, may be history.
   Both Don Castaldo, owner of the shop where he has worked for 43 years, and Stan Kline, a barber there for 37 years, had heart surgery last week.
   Messrs. Castaldo and Kline were the only two barbers in the two-chair shop at 8 N. Main St. in the heart of downtown Pennington.
   "Stan is definitely retired, and I may be too," Mr. Castaldo said Tuesday morning. "I might start working again in two weeks or so and be open for half-days on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I haven’t decided yet. I’ll have to see how it goes. Stan and I really want to thank all our customers for their patronage over the years. We had wonderful customers and made so many good friends."
   Mr. Castaldo, who lives in Hamilton, had heart surgery on April 18. Mr. Kline, who lives in Yardley, Pa., had a triple bypass two days earlier.
   "Stan’s doing fine. He’s at home," Mr. Castaldo said. "I’m doing OK, too, except for dizziness all the time and chills."
   "It’d be a hard thing to close the shop altogether, but I may have to. I’ll have to wait some more before making a final decision," Mr. Castaldo said.