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A smile goes a long way toward a better day

When I first meet William, downtown was shuttered by a snowstorm. Despite having slept outside in the cold the night before, William is in a good mood. “Today is a good day,” he says. “Sympathy day.” For William, it seems bad weather makes for better sale ...

10 Mar 2014 - Ann-Derrick Gaillot
Downtown’s dynamic duo on the pitch

Ask any Street Roots vendor and you’ll learn there’s more to selling the paper than you may think. Take Sean Sheffield and Rebecca Moran, for example. The dynamic selling duo dominates the corner of Southwest Fifth Avenue and Morrison Street, and if frequ ...

12 Feb 2014 - Ann-Derrick Gaillot
A natural salesman — with a touch of mystery

Every morning at 5 a.m., Street Roots vendor Shaun Followell wakes up, carefully packs up his gear and heads to the Starbucks on 15th Avenue and Fremont Street to sell papers. After a couple of hours, he hops on the bike he made himself and rides downtown ...

29 Jan 2014 - Ann-Derrick Gaillot
'A closed mouth’s not gonna get fed'

When I meet with Louis (pronounced loo-ey, not loo-iss) at the Street Roots office on a Saturday morning, he can hardly keep his tired, red eyes open. Late night partiers kept him up, and when the streets were empty, what he called the “road noises” began ...

13 Jan 2014 - Ann-Derrick Gaillot
Vendor: proudly ‘helping keep Portland weird’

If you’ve shopped at the Lloyd Center Safeway during the past few months, you’ve probably seen George Burdine selling Street Roots outside, lifting the spirits of passersby and shoppers. One of the first things one notices about George is his large spirit ...

19 Dec 2013 - Ann-Derrick Gaillot
Vendor seeks great sales, even better conversation

Jason Scheer may well be the most outgoing introvert you will ever meet. When we meet for coffee, Jason seems as though he does not have much he wants to talk about, but as time goes on he shyly reveals himself to be a mindful and sensitive artist, a dete ...

21 Nov 2013 - Ann-Derrick Gaillot
Vendor Profile: On the outside looking in; a vendor's mission to help

Rick Buck is one very busy man. In addition to dedicating time every day to selling Street Roots, Rick also holds three part-time jobs and volunteers his time with the Salvation Army and Sisters of the Road. From the time Rick wakes up in the morning to t ...

6 Nov 2013 - Ann-Derrick Gaillot
Vendor Profile: A man in the background steps forward

Yesterday was one of those days,” says Street Roots vendor Theodore Sears as we sit down to talk. He recounts how that day his cart full of his belongings tipped over and spilled out onto the sidewalk. As he bent down to gather his things, a man came out ...

24 Oct 2013 - Ann-Derrick Gaillot
‘One paper at a time’

Frequent visitors to Hawthorne Avenue will recognize vendor Keith Montgomery, who sells the paper, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Monday through Friday, outside Powells Bookstore. “I’m always here during those times,” he says, “unless I have a prior engagement like a doc ...

9 Oct 2013 - Ann-Derrick Gaillot
Finding strength — inside and out

It was easy to pick out Lorry Clark when I went to meet him at his old selling spot at Northwest 11th Avenue and Lovejoy Street. A tall man with an easy posture and a big smile, Lorry could look down on the tops of the heads of most of the people who word ...

24 Sep 2013 - Ann-Derrick Gaillot