For nearly 50 years, Joe Thomas watched the city of Tomball grow from the window of his barbershop at 417 W. Main St. He has seen the population boom, long-standing businesses move and witnessed the Tomball Tollway and Grand Parkway expand through town. “Who would have ever thought that we’d have a freeway coming through Tomball and an overpass coming over [Hufsmith-Kohrville Road] for crying out loud?” Thomas said. “I knew Tomball would grow, [but] I had no idea.” In 1958, at the age of 21, Thomas moved to Tomball from Linden, Texas, in an old Buick with his mother and a few belongings. That same year he began working at the barbershop and eventually bought the location in 1977. “I’ve served five generations [of customers],” Thomas said. “I knew everybody here, their wives, their kids and their dogs.” During that time, Thomas married and raised his children as the city changed around him. While on Main Street, the shop weathered countless storms, a massive tornado and several fires, including one in 1984 that burned down the Winona Theater located two buildings away, he said. “I stood on the corner [of Main Street], and I prayed because I could see the whole block going down in flames,” he said.

“In Tomball, the motto is ‘Hometown with a heart.' [The city has] been extremely good to me in so many ways.” —Joe 'The Barber' Thomas, former business owner in Tomball

After 46 years in business, Thomas retired and sold the barbershop in 2004. Though the barbershop is still named after him, the shop has undergone many changes, Thomas said. With the exception of Klein Funeral Home, Thomas said all of the businesses from his early days in Tomball have long since gone out of business and have been replaced by rapid commercial growth in the area. “We [used to have] one bank on the corner of Cherry Street and FM 2920, and now we’ve got a bank on every corner,” he said. “Nothing about Tomball is what it was like when I came here. [That’s] all gone now, so it’s kind of sad in that respect.” Back when Klein’s Supermarket was still in business, Thomas said he remembers being able to simply sign an IOU for groceries, a practice that is now long abandoned. Even at the age of 80, Thomas remains active and volunteers at hospitals and serves as a deacon at First Baptist Church. “In Tomball, the motto is ‘Hometown with a heart,’” Thomas said. “[The city has] been extremely good to me in so many ways.”