Ron lost everything — for the second time — when he arrived in Portland, but he is back on track
He was born at midnight during a hailstorm in Nashville, Tenn. In his 54 years, Ron Coulson has zigzagged across the country several times, working primarily as a carpenter in Wyoming and Montana, sometimes as a cannery worker in Alaska, once as a member of the maintenance crew in Yellowstone.
He’s lost everything, not once but twice in his life. But he stays focused and strong. Houseless in Portland, Ron said: “I improvise and overcome. I’ll get through this.”
The first time Ron’s world collapsed, he was happily married. In 2004, his wife was diagnosed with bone cancer; she died one year later. Within three weeks, his 13-year-old dog died in his arms.
His heart broken, “I walked away from everything,” Ron said. “My house, my furniture, my clothing. I left my boat, my car, my job. I couldn’t stay there.”
Carpentry work has been Ron’s livelihood. “I’ve been swinging a hammer since I was 5 years old,” he said. “I do high-end finish work. … I work with reclaimed lumber, very expensive. You can’t make mistakes on 150-year-old wood.”
In the past 15 years, he’s worked on custom log homes in Montana and Wyoming. Once he worked on a home for David Letterman.
Ron is as versatile as he is inventive. He’s worked in the canneries in Alaska, seasonal work, cleaning salmon.
“It’s nasty work, but the pay is good,” he said. “You work 30 to 60 days, and you walk away with five, even $10 thousand if you stay the season.”
But this past salmon season found Ron in Yellowstone Park on the maintenance crew. “It was beautiful,” he said. From April 15 to Sept. 1, he covered the 2.2 million acres of the park, taking care of the 900 campsites.
After Yellowstone, Ron drove up the Continental Divide to Bozeman, Mont., and landed a job with a log cabin company. In December, the work was finishing up, and winter was settling in.
“Winters in Montana are no joke,” he said.
He was eager to leave, but he blew a rod in his truck. “Now, I’m in Montana with no vehicle,” he said. “Where am I gonna go now?”
Thus begins the story of the second time Ron’s world collapsed.
Ron cashed his last paycheck and joined a friend, Johnny, who was headed for Portland. Just as the two had completed their 18-hour trip, Johnny suffered a diabetic attack. Ron drove Johnny to a Portland hospital emergency room. He pulled up to the entrance, and in his rush to save his friend, he forgot to lock the car. When he came back out 20 minutes later, the car was gone.
What had he lost? Everything. All the money he’d saved from Montana work, his contractor’s license, his tax returns, his letters of recommendation for future jobs. All his carpenter tools.
“So begins my life on the streets in Portland, Oregon,” Ron said.
For the past month, he diligently contacted previous employers. He landed a job in Omaha, Neb., and had a place to stay once he got there. But he needed $200 for a bus ticket. So, he dug in to Portland, got a bed at the Burnside Mission and met a man named Marty, who introduced him to Street Roots — and the opportunity to earn and save the money for that ticket.
Ron is the kind of man on the street who helps others, always concerned about others.
“I like to give money to others on the street,” he said. “I like to help out. There are plenty of people in much worse predicaments than I am.”
Perhaps it was Ron’s kindness that one man recognized. A pastor from a neighborhood church bought a copy of Street Roots from him at his Fred Meyer-Stadium post on Burnside and asked Ron his story.
The pastor told him he’d match the money Ron had saved, and 20 minutes later, he was back, having purchased that Greyhound ticket. “Jesus loves you,” he said.
“And it’s all because of Street Roots,” Ron said.
He stopped by Street Roots before he boarded the Greyhound. He wanted to say goodbye to the friends he’d made there, to remind folks that there’s hope, to stick with it. He also plans to introduce the idea of a street newspaper in Omaha once he arrives and settles into his new job. “I like to help out,” he said.
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