Faith Johnson is the third of the four Johnson sisters who have lived in Kit Carson since they were born to Richard and Sammie Johnson. The girls all attended school at Kit Carson School District and were contributors to the many sports teams and extra-curricular activities that the Wildcats competed in. As Faith and her sisters understand completely, it takes everyone contributing to the whole—the team, the school, the community—in order to find success.
Faith found great success as a member of the multiple girls’ state championship teams in basketball and volleyball that came out of Kit Carson. She learned what it takes to set goals, get along, persevere under difficult pressures, play within her role utilizing her individual strengths, and be a contributing member of the team. And it paid off.
Now, Faith, just 20 years old, and two years out of Kit Carson High School having graduated in 2021, will put those same skills she perfected in high school to work as she has moved back to her hometown after spending two years learning two useful trades. She has a degree in Early Childhood Education from Lamar Community College and a certificate and license in Cosmetology earned after being trained at Northwest Technical College in Goodland, KS.
Faith now has the knowledge and technical skills to open her own business and will use those team skills learned in high school sports to create a successful new hair and nail salon in Kit Carson she has named, THE PARLOR. It opened this week.
Admittedly, it’s not everyday we see a young person want to come back to their very small hometown and start a business. In fact, it’s highly unusual. But that fact does not phase Faith in the least bit. “I’ve been taught all my life that I could do or be whatever I wanted.”
Johnson also points to the community discussion sessions that had been held at the school for the past nearly two years. Those community discussions were spearheaded by Robert Framel, Kit Carson School Superintendent; Amy Johnson, Kit Carson Rural Development director; and a handful of other concerned citizens who saw that Kit Carson was on the tipping point of losing too much population and too many businesses. At these meetings, three in total, that were well attended by the community, many ideas on what kinds of businesses and services were needed in the town were discussed. In addition, ideas on how to attract families to live in Kit Carson were batted around.
Faith described the effect the meetings had on her, “To be honest, I was at school for most of these discussions, but I heard about them from my parents and friends there in Kit Carson. They made me hopeful for my hometown. But after awhile I noticed there was a lot of talk going on, but not that much action. I decided why not me—so I took action.”
This week Faith begins her venture in being a young entrepreneur in her hometown. She opened THE PARLOR, a name she said she used in a school project at NW Tech, on Monday, July 24 and is running special offers throughout her first official week in business. These specials include every demographic in her small town from Men’s Cuts Monday ($15) to Tikes and Tots Tuesday ($10) to Women’s Wednesday ($25 haircuts). She also added a fun Tutorial Thursday where she will offer to teach curling and braiding hair techniques to anyone interested. And don’t forget her exceptional services for Nail Care—she’s offering Fun Nail Friday with $5 off manicures.
THE PARLOR is located at 104 Main Street in the Cat’s Den Family Fun Center (the old Singing Grass Antique Shop). To schedule an appointment, you can contact Faith at 719.751.3202. THE PARLOR is also on Facebook and Instagram so get out there and follow Faith as she develops this much-needed business.
After this week, THE PARLOR will be open Monday – Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm—and Saturday from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm.
The Independent is thrilled to welcome Faith Johnson and THE PARLOR to our little slice of heaven and wishes her the very best in this endeavor. As with all businesses in a small town—they need to be supported by every single person who lives there. The fans of the Kit Carson Wildcats all show up for their athletes and the athletes are taught from a young age they must shoot to score. Faith is taking her shot and we hope the community will be there cheering her on.
The Indy Picks THE PARLOR and we hope you will too.
