Editor’s note: The Viewfinder is a weekly feature in which a photographer tells a story through the lens of a camera.

NATCHEZ — When people sit in Jan Bertrand’s chair, they expect more than a good haircut — they expect someone to listen.

While getting his hair trimmed by Bertrand, Charles Kees recites, after some coaxing, a poem he wrote about Christmas.

The poem is just one example of what Bertrand loves about her job.

As he begins to speak, a smile forms across Bertrand’s face. Bertrand knows she is in for a laugh.

She doesn’t say anything during his recitation. She listens and smiles.

Bertrand is a lady of few words.

When asked what she likes most about her job of 40 years, her response is simple.

“Cutting hair.”

Then, after a second of thought, “getting to know people.”

There was scarcely a time when she wanted to do anything else.

She remembers going to the barbershop with her dad when she was 5 and being in awe of the electric clippers.

After that trip, cutting hair was all she wanted to do. Years later, she is more than a barber to the people that frequent the shop she has owned since 1983.

“She listens to people, she gives them advice, she finds people jobs, she hooks people up, she does everything,” said Melissa Hall, Bertrand’s granddaughter and coworker.

Hall grew up in the shop. She saw how her grandmother made people feel good about themselves and wanted to do the same.

Bertrand’s love for people and cutting hair has made the Rebel Barber Shop a small community.

“Some people just come by to drink coffee and hear the gossip,” Bertrand said. “In the fall, the guys come by to talk about the ball games.”

To Dan Moak, he comes for the love.

“She pampers me,” he said.

“She shines my shoes, gives me a shave, a trim and even a massage.”

Bertrand does it all with a smile and open ears.

“You’re almost a psychiatrist. People come in with problems, and they need somebody to talk to,” Bertrand said.

“I get to be that person.”