Jesse "Jim" Wilder, a retired barber who held Friday night country music jam sessions in his Sykesville shop, died of emphysema Feb. 17 at the Golden Living Center in Westminster. He was 69 and lived in Gaither in Carroll County.

For several decades, Jim's Barbershop was a gathering place for men and boys who wanted an old-fashioned, non-unisex shop. For a time, there was plenty of county music, too.

Mr. Wilder, a native of Rockville, drove an Army tank while in military service in Germany in the late 1950s.

He became a Baltimore Air Coil welder, but he gave up the line of work after a physician advised him to change careers because of health hazards related to working with galvanized steel.

"After our son was born, he was driving through Baltimore one day and happened to see a sign for Cy Avara's barber school," said his wife, the former Darlene Smith. "He signed up and got his license."

Mr. Wilder rented a storefront on Sykesville's Main Street and opened a barber shop in 1973. He charged $1.50 for a haircut and prided himself on being cheaper than his competition.

"Not all men want to go to a unisex salon," he told a Sun reporter in 1984. "Some don't want styling and some think that going to one is not masculine. A lot don't come for a haircut. They come for the conversation."

Family members said Mr. Wilder opened his shop at 7:30 a.m., and there were usually several men waiting. Some were there for a haircut; others to chat about politics or discuss memories of their time in the Army or Navy.

A description of the store in The Sun said that as many as 15 men congregated during the day while only one might have been there for a cut. On average, Mr. Wilder did 30 heads a day; on Wednesdays, his day off, he went to the homes of the sick.

"It was an old-fashioned barbershop, and you could say what you pleased," his wife said. "He was a die-hard Republican, very conservative, and some of his customers were liberal Democrats. There were some very thorough discussions. He loved politics."

Mr. Wilder established a following among the police and military.

"He was the best around for flat tops," his wife said.

Mr. Wilder played the electric bass guitar and performed with a group, Stetson. He filled a wall in his shop with musical instruments that he allowed his customers to play.

"In fact, so many gathered to play years ago that impromptu jam sessions were conducted Friday nights, spilling out onto sidewalks and the lawn across the street. People came from out of state to play and listen," The Sun's 1984 article said.

"They called his place 'the Country Music Capital of Sykesville,'" said his son, Brian Wilder of Westminster, a Baltimore County police officer.

Mr. Wilder stopped the jam sessions in 1981 when he worried that they were growing too large.

He closed the business in 2004 and worked part time at an Eldersburg shop. He suffered a stroke in early 2007. His wife said that while in a nursing home, there had been only three or four days when his old customers and friends failed to visit him.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. March 29 at the Wesley Freedom United Methodist Church, 961 Johnsville Road, Eldersburg.

In addition to his wife of nearly 41 years and his son, survivors include his mother, Elizabeth Wilder of Catonsville; and two brothers, Ron Wilder of Sykesville and Earl Wilder of Eldersburg.

jacques.kelly@baltsun.com