Des Moines hairdresser relishes her small part of political history
Des Moines, Iowa With a leopard print smock on, and her light blonde hair freshly trimmed, hairdresser Cathy Jorgensen stood by an empty black salon chair with her hair-care products in a neat stack.
It was an unusually quiet day at The Cutting Company in downtown Des Moines, Iowa.
Her 11 a.m. appointment was running late. Fifteen minutes had passed when Jorgensen finally took a seat at the front desk.
"No politicians this year," said Jorgensen, shaking her head. "This has been the most peculiar thing."
It was the weekend before the Iowa caucus, and Jorgensen was ready for last-minute requests from politicians in the area.
This year, she hasn't received a single call.
Jorgensen, who has been a stylist at the hair salon located inside the Des Moines Marriott Downtown hotel for 35 years, remembers the days before presidential candidates had their own personal makeup artist and hairstylist.
In recent years, she has trimmed the hair of Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, Bob Dole, Patrick Buchanan and several other well-known political figures.
But perhaps her most memorable cut took place in the 1980s; it was former First Lady Barbara Bush.
"She brought a picture of herself -- front and back," Jorgensen told CBS News. "She said, 'this is how I want it.' I was like, 'Perfect, how easy is this?'"
Despite being surrounded by security guards inside Bush's hotel room -- even though she had already passed a background check, Jorgensen said she was surprised at how welcoming the First Lady was.
"She was very kind and nice," Jorgensen described. "I wasn't sure what to expect; all the people who were with her were equally nice."
Unlike clients like Bush, who enjoy chatting, the Iowa hairstylist has also had the silent types -- like Palin.
The vice presidential candidate even took the trouble to inform her she would be quiet.
"She walked in, said, 'I'm not going to talk to you; I just want to get my hair done,'" Jorgensen recalled.
Holding notecards in her hands, Palin explained that she had to give a speech later that day and needed to focus.
"'Don't take it personally -- I need to do this,'" Jorgensen recalled Palin's words.
Her visit came the day before the McCain-Palin ticket lost the 2008 election.
It wasn't because of the haircut, Jorgensen added.
During the 2012 election, a surprise guest showed up at the salon unannounced ahead of a presidential debate.
It was Mitt Romney, who asked for a quick trim on his way out the door.
"He was just leaving the building and dashed in here," Jorgensen said. "I trimmed up the back of his hair; he was very nice."
With a quick cut and a little gel, Romney was on his way.
"It's only because we're in the hotel that we have this exposure," Jorgensen said.
The beautician counts herself lucky.
"This is what I always wanted to do," she said. "When I was in junior high school I was doing people's hair -- messing around with my three younger sisters, who were great to work on."
Now not only does Jorgensen get to do what she loves, she also gets to be a small part of history.