Arlington 150: Stories of a Legend, Travis DeHorney Sr. One Life. One Chair. Thousands of Stories.

Long before Arlington became known around the world for championship sports, major entertainment venues, and millions of visitors, one man was quietly building a legacy one haircut, one conversation, and one relationship at a time.

His name is Mr. Travis DeHorney Sr.

On September 17, 2026, Mr. DeHorney celebrated his 85th birthday in the year Arlington celebrated its 150th anniversary. The timing was fitting. His life, his business, and the thousands of people who passed through his doors had become part of the city's history.

Mr. DeHorney's story began far from Arlington.

Born September 17, 1941, near Ravenna, Texas, he grew up as the son of a sharecropper. His father could not read or write, but he understood something powerful about opportunity. He knew that a skill could give his son independence and a future with choices.

When Mr. DeHorney was only 16 years old, his father sent him to barber school during the summer.

That decision changed everything.

Mr. DeHorney later attended Prairie View A&M University, served his country during the Vietnam era, and built a professional career that included General Dynamics, Bell Helicopter, and General Motors.

But barbering remained part of his foundation.

In 1985, Mr. DeHorney opened DeHorney's Barber Shop in Arlington.

What he created became much more than a place to get a haircut.

He opened what became recognized as Arlington's first Black-owned barbershop. The business later expanded into a unisex operation serving both men and women, becoming Arlington's first unisex salon. It also became the first Black co-ed business in the Arlington Chamber of Commerce.

Those were not simply business milestones.

They were barriers being broken.

Mr. DeHorney was establishing himself in spaces where Black entrepreneurs had not always been represented, welcomed, or given equal opportunity.

The early years were not easy.

Mr. DeHorney has spoken about customers experiencing broken windows and other resistance surrounding the business.

He could have left.

He could have decided Arlington was not ready.

He stayed.

He built.

And Arlington kept walking through his doors.

What happened inside those doors became the real legacy.

DeHorney's grew into a place where people gathered, talked, laughed, debated, learned, and returned.

Fathers brought in their sons.

Children received their first haircuts.

Young men came in before job interviews.

Business professionals stopped in before important meetings.

Athletes came before games.

Families returned year after year until Mr. DeHorney was serving multiple generations.

And then there were the names everyone recognizes.

Mr. DeHorney's reputation eventually brought some of the most celebrated names in sports and entertainment into his chair.

Among them were Steve Harvey and Tevin Campbell.

His Dallas Cowboys clientele included Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin, Deion Sanders, Darren Woodson, Charles Haley, Leon Lett, and Larry Brown.

Major League Baseball players and their families also came through his doors.

Long before Dereck Rodríguez became a Major League Baseball pitcher, he was a child receiving his very first haircut from Mr. DeHorney.

Mr. DeHorney's professional reach also extended to Miss Black USA.

For most people, cutting the hair of one nationally known athlete or entertainer would become the highlight of a career.

For Mr. DeHorney, those names became part of a much larger story.

Because inside his shop, celebrity did not determine a person's worth.

The businessman received the same attention as the boy getting his first haircut.

The professional athlete sat in the same type of chair as the father bringing in his son.

The famous names were memorable.

The thousands of everyday customers were the foundation.

That is what made DeHorney's special.

Mr. DeHorney understood that barbering was personal.

People talk when they sit in a barber chair.

They talk about family.

They talk about jobs.

They talk about relationships.

They talk about disappointments, dreams, successes, and mistakes.

For more than four decades, Mr. DeHorney listened.

Sometimes he offered advice.

Sometimes he offered encouragement.

And sometimes he offered something even more important.

An opportunity.

Mr. DeHorney employed individuals who were rebuilding their lives after incarceration or substance abuse. He gave people a chance to work, regain stability, and move forward.

Some of those individuals later became business owners themselves.

That may be one of the most powerful parts of his legacy.

His father gave him a skill.

Mr. DeHorney built a business with it.

Then he used that business to help other people build futures of their own.

In 1995, the Xi Theta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated recognized Mr. DeHorney as an African American Business Leader of Excellence.

By then, his influence had long since extended beyond barbering.

DeHorney's had become part of Arlington's community fabric.

Mr. DeHorney officially retired from barbering in April 2026.

He has explained that the decision was influenced by how much the industry had changed and by the rising cost of haircuts. He believed that a $50 haircut was out of reach for many working people. As he once told me, a young man working at McDonald's could not afford to pay $50 for a haircut.

But retirement did not completely separate him from the chair.

At his home, he maintained a special place where he continued to occasionally cut the hair of longtime clients, special clients, and friends.

Just days before his 85th birthday, I had the honor of sitting in that chair myself.

I had heard the stories.

I knew the history.

I knew about the athletes, entertainers, business leaders, and generations of families who had trusted Mr. DeHorney with their hair.

But there was something different about actually sitting there.

For a moment, I was not simply hearing about his legacy.

I was experiencing a small piece of it.

And I must say, after all those years, Mr. DeHorney still had it.

His hands still knew exactly what to do.

His conversation still made you feel welcome.

And the chair still had another story to tell.

At 85 years old, Mr. DeHorney also continued working at AT&T Stadium in Jerry Jones' suite, remaining connected to the Dallas Cowboys and to the sports history that became such an important part of modern Arlington.

But that was another chapter.

The heart of Mr. DeHorney's story remained the barbershop.

The place where he opened a door in 1985.

The place where a Black businessman helped change what entrepreneurship looked like in Arlington.

The place where men and women were welcomed.

The place where celebrities sat in the same chairs as everyday people.

The place where young men received advice, people received opportunities, and families created traditions that lasted for generations.

When Arlington celebrated 150 years of history, Mr. DeHorney's story served as a reminder that a city is not built only through stadiums, government buildings, corporations, and major developments.

A city's history is also built in neighborhood businesses.

In conversations.

In relationships.

In places where people feel seen.

In people who stay when leaving would have been easier.

In people who open doors and then hold those doors open for others.

Mr. Travis DeHorney Sr. did exactly that.

His father opened the first door when he sent a 16-year-old boy to barber school.

Years later, Mr. DeHorney opened another door in Arlington.

Thousands of people walked through it.

Some were famous.

Most were not.

Every one of them became part of the story.

One life.

One chair.

Thousands of stories.

And one unforgettable chapter in Arlington's first 150 years.

Submitted by VanDella Menifee