Hair used to show solidarity, benefit charity

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Right, Nine-year-old Anna Kuehn vowed not to cut her hair until her dad returned from military service overseas. Submitted photos (see the "after picture" in this week's Journal)

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When her dad left for military duty in Kosovo, nine-year-old Anna Kuehn pledged she wouldn’t cut her shoulder-length hair until after he returned.

Anna’s mom Sara Kuehn said about husband Ron, “This was his second tour to Kosovo.”

He left in July 2007 and returned almost a year ago. Anna kept true to her word, letting her hair grow for nearly another year after “Daddy” returned.

Anna said as she and her mother drove by a salon one day, “Mommy asked me if I wanted to cut my hair, and I said, ‘Yeah.’”

Ron had not only returned from his second tour of duty with the Minnesota National Guard (A Company, 2/135), he’d also gotten a promotion to Sergeant First Class before retiring.

With both females in his family relieved to have him home for good, the two focused on a haircut. They began to talk about donating Anna’s hair to charity and found a New Richmond-based program, Pantene Beautiful Lengths.

“We went online,” said Sara about how they found it.

Most hair donation programs required at least 10 or 12 inches of hair, plus the program in New Richmond was the only local option mother and daughter found.

Anna said Pantene Beautiful Lengths gives the hair to sick people who need wigs, mostly women with cancer.

Soon the mother and daughter enlisted help from Amy Parnell of River Falls-based Off the Top salon. The two explained that Parnell is also the aunt of Anna’s next-door’s best friend.

When asked how much hair Parnell cut off, Anna said, “Eight and a half inches.”

Read the rest of this story and see the "after photo" in this week's River Falls Journal.