Find of the Month
Each month we highlight interesting, important, and odd items from our collection, along with the stories they tell.
Most recent Find of the Month
April 2026 - Haircut incident
Sometimes we come across folder titles that cry out for further investigation. When we saw a 1971 file labeled “Haircut Incident” listed in Mayor Uhlman’s records, we couldn’t resist heading to the vault to check it out.
The folder turned out to contain records documenting a dispute about whether firefighter Gary Medica’s hair was too long. Witness statements from several officers relayed who had told him to get a haircut and when, allegedly over the course of several days. At roll call on July 4 Medica was finally told to have a fellow firefighter cut it for him right then or be suspended; he refused, saying he would go to a union barbershop when it reopened after the holiday. He served a two-day suspension for insubordination.
The union’s newsletter told Medica’s side of the story along with a photo of him with arguably not very long hair. He claimed that the first mention of a haircut on June 30 had been a comment and not an order. Actual orders were given on July 3 and 4 but it was a holiday weekend, and he felt it was not unreasonable to go to the barbershop when it reopened on the 6th.
City Councilmember George Cooley read the account in the union publication and wrote to Mayor Uhlman saying he was “astonished” at the case and asking the mayor to intervene. The mayor apparently asked Fire Department officials for details of the incident. They again laid out the timeline and argued that Medica wasn’t suspended for his hair but rather for refusing a legitimate order.
In the end, the suspension was upheld. Medica sued the City, asking for his two days’ wages to be reinstated and his record to be cleared. The lawsuit claimed it was unconstitutional for the suspension to be instituted without a hearing, but a judge ruled that this was allowed under the city charter.
You can read older Finds of the Month by browsing via the left navigation.