What makes Max McEntire good at what he does is the simple fact that he likes people so much. Whether he’s on the road, working the festival and carnival circuit as a cook, or working the jobs he’s responsible for at Street Roots, what sustains him are all the people he gets to work with and for.
Max has been working the carnival and festival circuit from April to Labor Day throughout Oregon, Idaho and California for the past thirty years. For the first few decades, he ran games and worked security. For the past few years, he has been working as a fast-order cook. The work involves “a lot of long hours and a lot of hard, sweaty work,” he said, but he loves the job.
“There’s a lot of fun about the traveling life,” he said. “I come in contact with so many people. I like the bosses I work with. I pretty much run my own trailer. I’m in charge. And the trust is always there.”
Max fell in love with Portland working the Rose Festival, and in 2019 he decided to claim Portland as home. Looking for work to “carry me through the winter,” Max found out about Street Roots from a friend.
He’s been with Street Roots since September 2019.
“My first day selling, I sold 47 papers. I must have hit the right day,” he said. “I got a good post, but also I’m good at it: I love to talk with people. Lots of folks used to like to stop and talk. That was before COVID. Now there’s not only less foot traffic, but there are less people wanting to stop and talk. We’ve gotten so afraid of human contact.”
When talking about his Street Roots customers, Max chokes up in tears.
“I love them dearly,” he said. “They’ve kept me alive.”
One of his favorite customer stories is about a couple who bought him a pair of boots last winter.
“I’ve got an expensive pair of waterproof boots on,” Max said. “And they bought me long johns too. All of my customers are such good people.”
Last winter, Max joined the Street Roots’ Coronavirus Prevention and Action Team as the lead security guard. These days, he works every Wednesday in the Street Roots office managing traffic flow in and out of the office, making sure that everyone is masked and spaced safely and feeling friendly together.
“I try to help keep everyone safe,” he said.
Being on the road from April to Labor Day makes it especially difficult for Max to secure housing when he’s not traveling. Currently, his tent is on Northwest Burnside Street, but he said “it’s time to relocate. I’ve had my bike stolen, my bag stolen, my cart stolen.”
Right now, Max is concentrating his energies on making and saving money. He needs to save $100 to replace the glasses that were stolen, without which most everything is blurry.
And how is he managing in the cold and rain?
“Just barely,” he said. “But I’m a tough old coot. I just put up with it. I’ve got a medium tent inside a big tent. It keeps the wind and rain out. But it’s cold. Bitter cold.”
“Street Roots is what has kept me alive,” Max said. “I love Street Roots. I’m loyal to it.”
And it’s not just the income, he explained.
“This work keeps me from going off the deep end. It keeps me solid inside myself. It’s something important that I’m responsible for.”
Max asked to end his profile by leaving Street Roots’ readers with a parting quote dear to his heart and formative to his personhood. At the age of 10, Max was a young member of a boys’ club in Amarillo, Texas. Max adopted his club’s motto as his life’s guiding words: “God first. Home second. Country third. Other fellow fourth. And me last.” Max believes if people could live by these words, they’d have an easier life and maybe even enrich someone else’s.
Max’s post is on Northwest 11th Avenue and Couch Street on the corner of Starbucks, just across from Powell’s. You can support Max through @StreetRoots Venmo by entering his name and badge number (381) in the notes.
Street Roots is an award-winning weekly publication focusing on economic, environmental and social justice issues. The newspaper is sold in Portland, Oregon, by people experiencing homelessness and/or extreme poverty as means of earning an income with dignity. Street Roots newspaper operates independently of Street Roots advocacy and is a part of the Street Roots organization. Learn more about Street Roots. Support your community newspaper by making a one-time or recurring gift today.
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