Longtime mayor, hairdresser moving away from Buchanan, ND

Jul. 13—BUCHANAN, N.D. — Jan Lees was cleaning up her salon in Buchanan after one of her customers had left.

She swept the floor of her business — Country Clipper — before showing off her kit from 50 years ago that said, "Mr. D. Town and Country Beauty College," which was formerly located in Jamestown. She said the kit contained her brushes, combs, picks, rollers and "whatever she needed."

"It's been a tough couple of weeks for her," her husband, Kim, said. "A lot of people have been with her a long time."

Kim Lees, who served 34 years as the mayor of Buchanan, and his wife will be heading west to Beaver Bay on Lake Oahe west of Linton, North Dakota. They are moving so they can "spoil" their grandchildren in Bismarck.

"It's time," Kim said. "We are looking forward to a new adventure."

The last day for Country Clipper was July 9. The salon was located in the Lees' home in a separate area.

"I decided I better go out on a high note before everybody quits coming to me or something happens and I can't work any more," Jan said jokingly.

But losing two pillars of the community has hit home for a few people.

"I knew that the time would come some day," said Cheryl Bennett, a longtime customer of Jan's. "I thought I would be prepared for it."

Bennett has been getting her hair done by Jan for 44 years. She said her mother, father, her children and even her grandchildren have gotten their hair done by Jan.

"I'm going to miss her and I really don't know what I'm going to do," she said.

Bennett said she has become great friends with Jan. She said her visits remind her of the movie "Steel Magnolia" where a hairdresser's friends make excuses to need something done to their hair but they are going just to visit and catch up on each other's lives.

"We have so much to talk about. When I go in there, it's ridiculous," she said. "We just kind of forget what we are doing, what I'm really there for because we are just so busy catching up with each other, family.

Jan said being a good person and visiting with her customers are a couple of reasons her business has been successful.

Buchanan Mayor Mike Vetter said Kim and Jan are "super good" people.

"We are going to miss the heck out of them," he said.

Kim and Jan Lees have been married for more than 44 years. Jan is originally from the Cleveland-Windsor area. Kim is from Buchanan.

Kim has been a farmer in the Buchanan area for many years. He also worked in Jamestown for five years for a fertilizer and chemical dealer.

Kim was a member of the original Buchanan City Council when Buchanan officially organized as a city.

"The only reason we had to (organize as a city) was we needed to build a sanitary sewer system so we had to be a city in order to get that done," he said. "Once that was done, we qualified for grants and that has gone very well."

Kim said he got involved serving on the Buchanan City Council and as mayor because "somebody's gotta do it."

"I've been on different boards," he said. "I always found it enjoyable. You learn a lot, meet a lot of people, and basically learn different skills and are dealing with people.

"I take a lot of satisfaction from the success that have happened," he said. "By in large people have all bought into taking care of their neighbor, watching out for your neighbor, keeping their property up. I think it's been a pretty good run."

Kim didn't seek reelection this year.

"It worked out pretty well because we are moving," he said.

He said he's most proud of getting the needed infrastructure to Buchanan.

"The sewer, the infrastructure, roads and maintenance and things like that have gone pretty well," he said.

He said challenges for a rural community like Buchanan are services and keeping some businesses alive.

"Luckily, we are so close to Jamestown for law enforcement, health care, ambulance, all that," he said. "We got it a lot better than some cities."

Vetter said he met Kim in the early 2000s. The farm his family purchased included a couple of grain bins that Kim rented.

"Over the years he hayed my land and farmed my dirt until he quit farming," Vetter said.

He said he got along great with Kim because "he gets along with everybody."

"He's a super great guy," Vetter said. "He's always willing to help with whatever problem you got. If you needed something, he'd do whatever he could to make sure you got what you are looking for or the hand you needed or this or that."

He said Kim's knowledge of Buchanan's governmental functions will be missed.

"But, he's one phone call away too," he said.

Jan went to Mr. D. Town and Country Beauty College in Jamestown to perfect her craft. She worked as a hairdresser in Jamestown for a few years before she opened her salon in Buchanan in February 1980.

"I just wanted to own my own salon so I could have my own hours," she said. "I wanted to be here when the kids got home from school."

Jan said she wanted to be a hairdresser because she always enjoyed doing hair. She said she always did her mother's hair and practiced on her sister.

As a hairdresser, Jan has done haircuts for multiple generations of families.

"I have five generations for one family," she said.

She was instructor at Mr. D. Town and Country Beauty College.

Jan did photography until digital cameras came out. She took pictures for seniors, families and weddings.

She also does hair for those who have passed away.

Bennett said Jan is always willing to listen to her customers and she always gets them in when haircuts are needed.

"It doesn't matter if she's got to work late," she said. "She will move other people around. If you need to get in, she gets you in. There's no waiting, she just accommodates you no matter what."

She said Jan is always helpful with suggestions.

"If you got a problem with your hair of some kind or another, if she doesn't know, she finds out and gets back to you," she said.

Jan said over the years she has learned about different hair styles, colors and other new things that come up in her industry.

"My sister and I used to go to a lot of classes. Lately it's been one a year," she said. "It changes so much. I used to do two or three perms a day. Now I do two or three in a month. I can do up to six colors a day. I never used to do one a week way back 45 years ago."