"The first permanent barber to locate in Dryden was Wm. H. Lester, who, when a young man twenty years of age, opened a shop July 1, 1858, in the southeast room of Barton's Hotel. Prior to that time Dryden men either shaved themselves or let their beards grow in the natural way, as was quite often done."

Geo E. Goodrich, compiler and editor, The Centennial History of the Town of Dryden, 1797-1897, Dryden, N.Y.: J. Giles Ford, Printer, 1898,
103.