DRIFTING
They come from all corners of
the country, rolling in on the rails
He shudders inside the tattered overcoat as rain
leaks through the threadbare fabric. Adjusting the
bedroll slung by a string across his back, he rakes
fingers through his long rust-colored hair
Two women under bright-colored umbrellas stop
at the corner, waiting for the High Street traffic light to
change
“ 'Scuse me," he says, staggering toward them “I
just need nineteen cents for a cup of coffee Could'ya
help me out?"
The women say nothing One woman puts her
hand over her nose and mouth and rolls up her eyes.
The light changes, the women cross the street
"Thang-ya," he says, his empty hand catching
rain
He shambles up 13th Avenue begging from
passersby They ignore him
A man stops, digs into the pocket of his blue jeans
and presses a quarter into the beggar s greasy-brown
palm
"What’s your name?" the man asks
The beggar gathers the lapels of his overcoat in a
hiss and squints
"Why?"
"Give me back my quarter."
The beggar glances at the quarter, then at the
man
"Randy — my name's Randy,” he says angrily,
closing his fist over the coin.
The man smiles and walks off Randy hobbles up
13th to an alley
Randy is part of an on-going transient problem for
Eugene neighborhoods and the city’s police,
according to Sgt Don Ellingson, a member of the
city's COP Team
Each day Eugene police arrest four or five
transients on charges ranging from panhandling,
drinking on an unlicensed premises, to public
urination
The typical transient has changed, Ellingson says
They are younger for the most part, between 18 and 25
years old They're not old railroad bums but latter-day
drop-outs
These wanderers cause the most problems for
police, Ellingson says They tend to committ more
violent acts But those assaults usually take place
within their own group of transients, he says
hey roll each other a lot The young ones find out
1 an older one has a Social Security check and
they roll him for it" The younger "drop-out" types do
the stealing
"The older transients used to follow the crops,
picking cherries and whatever was in season The
younger ones don’t do anything ”
Skinner's Butte, Washington Jefferson Park and
the, neighborhood parks, like 14th and Hilyard. are the
places transients frequent according to Ellingson
There's no skid row in Eugene, so the transients
"make a skid row of the parks," Ellingson says
Andrian Stansfield, assistant supervisor for
Eugene Parks and Recreation Department, reports
more than $2,000 in damages for 1980 to Skinner's
Butte and Washington Jefferson Park The damage
was done primarily to the restrooms and cottage, as
well as shrubbery
But Stansfield says the "problem is not the
damage — people don't want to use the parks when
transients are there "
Last summer, transients congregated in the park
located in the 600 block of 14th Avenue in the
West University Neighborhood. Residents cited
incidences of panhandling, verbal harassment, and
physical threats by transients
Despite increased safety precautions and extra
police patrols, the head of the West University crime
prevention group, Charlotte Lemon, says the
transients still inhabit the park Several residents
complained about their presence last fall
"This spring," Lemon says, "we ll be alert a little
earlier to prevent it from getting into the situation of
last year "
Ellingson sxpresses some frustration when he
talks about arresting transients Each arrest costs
taxpayers about $46
"It adds up," he says "But in a couple of days a
judge kicks them loose.”
Hopping freight trains is basic transportation for
many transients, Ellingson says, and the Eugene
railyards are more lenient than some in larger cities
Hoboes often hop off a train in Eugene — a main
switching yard for Southern Pacific Railroad — and
look for a free meal and a warm place to sleep The city
hasn't got many places like that for them
One of these the Eugene Mission was set up
primarily for the transient farmers
“We started in the depression days with soup
kitchens," says the mission's director, Ernest Unger
He estimates the mission averages 110,000 meals
a year, serving from 325 to 350 meals a day, about 10
percent over the number for last year
The mission has 100 beds for men in its four
dormitories and 25 beds for women and children in
separate quarters
Randy turns the pocket of his overcoat inside out
and spills coins onto the counter He carefully places
the dirty bottles he s collected next to the coins Next
to the money is a quart of beer Randy touches it lightly
as the clerk scrapes the coins off the counter
"Don't I get no change?" he asks
The clerk folds his arms across his chest and
stares back blankly
Randy takes the bottle in both hands and slowly
shuffles out the door into the night
From top to bottom: A local
transient makes his
afternoon rounds, collecting
“valuables" amid the South
ern Pacific switching yards,
the Eugene Mission has a
special entrance for those in
search of rest, warmth and
food; transients pass
through the campus area in
hopes of acquiring spare
change or cigarettes, but of
ten only receive sympathy;
alone, a drifter silently slips
through town, always keep
ing an eye on the silver rail
and his mind on distance For
him this is a good day; there
is no rain.
By Cort Fernald
Photos by Bob Baker