When Don and Shelley Jones learned their friend Gaylene Edblom had cancer and would likely lose her hair, they promised she wouldn't go through it alone.

"We swore that if she lost her hair, we'd lose our hair, too," Shelley said.

"We pinky-swore," Don added as he prepared to say goodbye to the long ponytail he's spent the past 11 years growing.

Elks Lodge members from Corvallis and nearby cities gathered Friday evening to put a price on the Joneses' hair.

Fred Raw and Kirt Edblom, Gaylene's husband, offered a combined $300 to cut Don Jones' ponytail.

"I've been kidding him about it for weeks," said Raw as he happily snipped away.

Several members of Raw's family have been diagnosed with cancer, so it's a cause close to his heart.

Between that money and the $150 other people paid to shave segments of Jones' head, the local software technician's hair raised $450.

All proceeds from Friday's event will go to the Benton County Breast and Cervical Cancer Coalition.

Six people had their heads shaved that night, with amateur auctioneer Dean Amidon charging top dollar for every swipe of the razor. Those whose hair was long enough donated their braids to Locks of Love, a nonprofit organization that provides hairpieces to poor children suffering from long-term medical hair loss.

Shelley Jones has donated hair to Locks of Love before, but this was the first time she's had her head shaved. She and her husband were both nervous, but Gaylene Edblom took off her wig to show them that bald can be beautiful.

Edblom was diagnosed with breast cancer in April, and she said it was wonderful seeing her friends donate their hair and money to fight the disease.

"I love my hair. My hair is like the most important thing to me. It was devastating to me when I learned I was going to lose my hair. I cried and cried," Edblom said.

Cancer has touched the lives of many Elks members, according to Kirt Edblom, leader of the local lodge.

"This lodge has lost a lot of good friends to cancer. Let's hope that they find a cure soon," he said.

Despite the weightiness of the cause, the mood was light Friday night as those having their heads shaved winced and yelped good-naturedly - either from accidental razor nicks or the emotional pain of having their scalps exposed.

Kirt Edblom shaved his head, as did his daughter, Heather.

Heather is starting her junior year of high school in the fall at a new school, and she was nervous about being bald.

When she learned she'd have to cut off her entire ponytail to meet Locks of Love's

10-inch requirement, Heather decided to let the Elks shave off almost everything. She wanted to show solidarity with Gaylene, her stepmother.

"Just leave me a mohawk," the 16-year-old said.

Gaylene Edblom is a hairstylist at Supercuts. Her supervisor, Daylene Olsen, also donated her hair and shaved her head Friday.

Olsen was nervous, but she realized the new look won't last forever.

"It's hair. It grows back," she said.

Olsen said she'd be interested to see if people treat her differently without hair. She suspects clients at the salon may be surprised to see a bald hairstylist.

Local Elks lodges pooled their resources and raised $1,000 to convince Dave Williams, an Elks leader at the national level, to donate his trademark ponytail.

As Elks members and the greater Corvallis community gave their money and their locks in hopes that someday people won't lose their hair to cancer - and, in the meantime, to provide wigs for kids who do - a popular credit card commercial sprang to mind:

Friday night dinner at the Elks Lodge n $5.

A drink at the Elks Lodge n $7.

Shaving a section of a friend's head n $35.

Helping find a cure for cancer n priceless.

On the Net: www.locksoflove

.org

Mary Ann Albright can be reached at maryann.albright@lee.net or 758-9518.