MARS — The old-fashioned generosity of a barber is resulting in delighted smiles on the faces of disadvantaged local youths.

Anthony Fallone, who works at Calcara's Barber Shop on Grand Avenue, crossed the street this spring to get a dose of the medication he had forgotten that day. His ensuing conversation with a Rite-Aid shift supervisor who was down on his luck served as the humble beginnings of Lizzie's Bikes, a fledgling group that gives bicycles to underprivileged children in the Mars area.

Fallone explained that drugstore supervisor Greg Kalka asked him if he knew of anyone who had a used bicycle to sell for a few dollars, as the young father had experienced some hard financial times and wanted to get his 10-year-old daughter, Lizzie, a bike for Easter.

Fallone replied he did not, but that he would spread the word among the many customers who come into the barber shop for a traditional hot towel and a shave. True to his word, Fallone, 73, asked his half-dozen patrons if they knew anyone wanting to get rid of an old bike.

"Nobody said anything," Fallone said. "I knew two of the guys pretty well, and I called them into the back room and I put my finger in their faces and I said, 'I need a favor.'"

An hour later, Fallone said, a van pulled up to the shop and a woman in the passenger's seat began waving for Fallone to come outside. Thinking a handicapped customer needed help getting into the shop, Fallone hustled out onto the sidewalk.

"She said, 'Anthony, go to the back and open the doors,'" recalled Fallone. "And there was a bicycle with every piece of gingerbread on it you could imagine."

Fallone hurried across the street to summon the shift supervisor, then presented him with the brand new bicycle for Lizzie.

"The poor guy's sitting there bawling his head off," Fallone said. "That made everyone's day."

Thinking his benevolence completed, Fallone returned to sharpening his straight-edged razor on a leather strap and brushing soap on the bristly faces of his customers.

"Three days later, another lady I had never seen before walks in and says, 'Who is Anthony?'" Fallone said.

She too had a bike in her van, and asked Fallone for help getting it out of the vehicle. He told her the bike donation had been a one-time event, and politely advised her to take the new bike back to the store for a refund.

"So she puts her hands on her hips and says, 'I'm not taking this bicycle back. You're going to find another kid that needs a bicycle.'"

The woman, who Fallone learned was the wife of one of his six customers in the store when he made his original announcement, also had a huge Easter basket for Lizzie. Defeated, Fallone took the bike and the basket into his back room.

"Word got around town what had happened, and people started bringing me bicycles," Fallone said. "One guy brought in $600 worth of bicycles, all brand new."

Fallone is currently in the process of forming a community association with a governing body made up of himself, Kalka and other action-minded Mars residents. The group, which Fallone has named Lizzie's Bikes, will oversee the collection, repair and distribution of donated bikes.

"We're going to meet at the end of July and Lizzie is going to be our guest of honor," Fallone said.

Basilon's Cleaners next door to the barber shop has donated its back room to store and repair bikes. The group already has given a few bikes away, and about a dozen, mostly brand new, wait for their new owners at the cleaners.

"This is truly a community project," Fallone said.

Kalka on Tuesday recalled the pre-Easter exchange between himself and Fallone that provided the bike for Lizzie.

"I asked Tony to look around and see if anyone has a used bike for sale," said Kalka, who wanted to ride with his daughter in the community park. "I didn't think any more of it."

An hour later, Kalka found himself speechless and in tears at the rear of a van across the street.

"Tony said, 'I just wanted to help you out,'" Kalka said.

Kalka said in addition to providing a bike and an Easter basket for his daughter, the gesture restored the faith in mankind he had been doubting since his unfortunate circumstances began.

"You look at society anymore and see so much heartache going on, that for something like that to happen? It makes you think maybe the world's not so bad," Kalka said. "It was such a great moment. Tony's such a generous guy."

Kalka, who has agreed to serve on the board of directors for Lizzie's Bikes, said giving away the two-wheelers might also get more families out from in front of a TV or computer screen and into the outdoors to spend time together.

"Bikes are an old connection," Kalka said. "Riding bikes with your kid is a connection that is kind of lost now. Maybe we can rekindle it."

Fallone eagerly looks forward to handing out bikes to local youngsters who would not otherwise have one.

"It's really fun to see the expression on their faces when they get a bike," Fallone said. "Some of these kids have nothing. It really warms your heart."

He has no doubt that the project will take off like the fireworks that light up the skies over the small town each Independence Day.

"I think Mars is a wonderful, quiet town. This goes to show you that when something needs done, they come out of the woodwork, and by the dozens," he said.