Johnny Schantz, George W. Richards and Tom Diffin sit outside Rude Awakening in downtown Fayetteville. An idyllic cry to their blue-collar roots, they are dressed in loose button downs, T-shirts and worn blue jeans. They would say they are comfortably dressed. In their professions, it doesn’t matter much how they come dressed — one a mechanic, the other an owner of a pet sitting business and the third a motorcycle builder. Each profession carries its load of dirt from a hard day’s work. The clothes they sit in now will look different at the end of most days. They laugh and joke, speaking to one another with an ease of lifelong friends.
They always address each other as “brother.”
All of the men are adorned with long, grown out grayed beards. They wear it as a proud token of membership to the group of brothers with whom they belong.
Without much provocation, Diffin brings out his worn black wallet. It’s well-used and thin except for a bump under which are three coins — one is his, one is his brothers and the third for Ted, a member of the group who has passed on. Each one of the men’s wallets houses one of these thick metal coins — a token of membership. It is a coin of brotherhood. And the rule is, they must carry this on them at all times.
These brothers, as they call each other, are members of Cape Beard — a beard and mustache group with a unique niche — charity work.
And they have three main rules: family, work and club.
“In that order,” Richards says.
Diffin flips one of his coins back and forth and rubs it between his fingers. He looks like a hardball. One of the first guys to go 200 miles per hour on a Harley Davidson and stereotypical to the look of a motorcycle rider. But as he sits on the sunny Friday morning, he speaks softly, tears at the thought of his brothers who have passed on and talks fondly and proudly about Cape Beard.
“It all started as a joke back in 2011. A bunch of us got together and watched sports teams and hung out on Sundays,” Diffin says, laughing. “To see what it has blossomed into today is just unbelievable.”
In the beginning, Cape Beard started out with 10 members. Diffin is number 13. His identical twin brother Tim, the other half of the motorcycling duo, was number 12. He passed away in 2012. George W., a jokester who strongly pronounces both the George and the W in his name, is number 55. When Schantz joined, he became member 75.
“Tom got me involved in it,” Schantz says. “Love him to death for it.”
“Don’t blame me,” Diffin says, laughing.
The group is currently preparing for its upcoming event at Dirt Bag Ales, Beardtober Fest. They have hosted this event since 2012 and held it at Dirt Bag Ales for the last four years. It will include food vendors and of course, beard and mustache competitions of all sorts. Last year, they saw 100 competitors in their competitions. The event’s proceeds will go 100% to the Karen Chandler Trust, which helps local cancer patients with rent, utilities and other expenses while undergoing cancer treatment.
“It is the best non-profit in the world. No sitting board member gets any money,” Richards says.
Cape Beard prides itself on choosing only charities that have no overhead. They said this was one of the things that attracted them to the Chandler Trust.
“They go broke every year.” Diffin says. “Kind of like us.” Diffin laughs.
“We vet the local organization,” Richards says. “If we don’t like something we cut ties and we leave. We’ll leave if we don’t like where the money is going or if it ends up being corrupt.”
The group is philanthropic but they say they look atypical for a group whose main focus is charity. They may be right as most of them are burly men who stay bearded at least nine months out of the year to comply with Cape Beard’s bylaws. Most of them hold blue collar jobs. They seem, at a glance, like the toughest of men.
“People look at us and they go, we are like the dregs of society. Unshaven. Comfortably dressed. We were reluctant to file for the 501(c),” Diffin says.
Eventually, they did and any money they collect at any of their events goes straight to the local charity that they are supporting. The club has hosted up to five events per year and each event is tied to a local charity. At the end of each event, the members do what they call a “bump up,” where they throw in their own money to round up the donation.
“The little thing about some of the guys in this group. I have phone calls where some of the guys can’t make it to the meeting because they are low on fuel and ask me to give them a ride. Then they spend their whole weekend raising money to give to someone else? How do you not love people like that?” Schantz asks.
Diffin tears a little and says a firm, “amen.” Schantz rocks his head a little as he talks.
“When I saw that — I was hook, line and sinker. I was in the frying pan cooking myself. I was done. This is where I needed to be.” Schantz says.
Of the events Cape Beard sponsors, the most popular are their Pig Pickin’ for Autism, “Show Us Your Cans” food drive and Beardtoberfest. However, members of the community have been asking the group when they plan to bring back Bearded Beauties. When they were first asked to host the event years ago, the group jumped to some conclusions about the details.
“We are going — beautiful women … evening gowns … talent. Yeah. What do you want us to do? Be Chaperones?,” Diffin says, laughing. “Miss Sarah looked at us, ‘No, we want you to be the contestants.’ It took 3 maybe 4 meetings to talk the brothers into stepping out of their comfort zone.”
In the end, the bearded beauties stepped up to the plate. The first Bearded Beauties event even included a calendar of the group that they sold for charity. It was a hit. Diffin laughs as he says the calendar has come back to “haunt” them. People keep asking them about when they are making another one. However, in the end, they admit it was worth it, as every event is to them.
Some time ago, the group received a note from a young boy in the community. Being unable to write himself, his mother helped him to thank the members of Cape Beard. The young boy was in cancer treatment in Cumberland County and was supported by the efforts of Cape Beard. One of the brothers read the note aloud at a monthly meeting while the others listened.
“It was the first time I saw that many grown men, that looked like they could take over the town, cry,” Diffin says. “Guys that are tougher looking than me were crying. That just brings meaning to what we do.”
The men also are a foundation for each other, a brotherhood. They note that some of the group members suffer depression or lingering issues from years of military service. But a brother is just a call away.
“We lost a brother to suicide,” Diffin chokes up. “All he had to do was reach out. It's disheartening to know there’s nothing in place for them for support. I am the oldest guy here. I wear my emotions on my sleeve. It hurts me when they don’t reach out.”
The men all nod their heads in unison. They are silent for a second and then continue on to laugh and joke with one another. In the midst of regular conversation, one of them says the acronym, “KTF.” Another repeats it. It’s the rally cry of their group. When asked about the meaning, the three laugh. There's a long story involved and perhaps a swear word or two. But if asked, they’ll share the story and the passion they have for their community.
BeardtoberFest will be hosted Oct. 15 at Dirt Bag Ales. Doors open at 6 p.m. and competitions start at 7 p.m. Admission is $15. Those in attendance can compete in one event with admission. Any additional events are $5.
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