Joe McKnight, a local barber that travels to Cortland, Ithaca, Binghamton and other areas to cut people's hair. (Photo provided by Timothy A. Bennett, Owner & Publisher of The Cortland Voice)
Joe McKnight is a well-known barber in Cortland, Ithaca and the surrounding areas.
McKnight, a native of Rochester, got into the barbering due to love for people and having conversations with them. He opened his own barbershop in Ithaca in the mid-1990s, mainly due to his cousin Ivan being a barber.
His career includes being the exclusive barber of the New York Jets back when they held its training camp at SUNY Cortland.
McKnight, who received his master license in barbering in the early 2000s, soon became a traveling barber due to his spreading by word-of-mouth. This led to McKnight driving to customers in Cortland, Binghamton, Ithaca, Groton and other areas to cut their hair.
“I had a lot of people who knew me that couldn’t reach me or heard of me,” McKnight said. “That’s when I would travel to people.”
After decades of being the go-to barber for many, McKnight is requesting assistance as he faces anticipated financial constraints between work and life.
A few weeks ago, McKnight was diagnosed with a tumor between his eyes.
Doctors told McKnight that based on the size of the tumor, he’s had it for over 10 years. McKnight first found out about it less than a month ago.
This information was told to McKnight after he complained of repetitive headaches for a “long time,” he said.
“(The doctors) are going to operate on it. There’s no other way around it,” McKnight said. “They have to operate on it, or it could become serious.”
McKnight noted that once the doctors remove the tumor, it will take more than six weeks for him to heal. His surgery is scheduled for late June.
“Since it’s been sitting on my gland for so long, it might have some effect on my eyes and head. It’s going to be like that for a while,” McKnight said.
McKnight won’t be able to work during his process of healing from the procedure. This prompted him to start a GoFundMe to help pay for his bills at home and his business.
“I’ve been in a business for a really long time,” McKnight said. “I need help because I’ll have bills to pay.”
