Street roots., March 10, 2017, Page 6, Image 6

Vendors
Page 6
VENDOR PROFILE
Ben Eiland
o
CENTRAL C ITY
CO FFEE
Sourcing & roasting craft coffee to
benefit programs at Central City Concern.
BY LENORA KO
S T A F F W R IT E R
en Eiland is a personable,
hardworking man who says he is
healing one day at a time.
He grew up in both Buena Vista and
Leadville, Colo., after his parents divorced
when he was 7.
“I come from a good family,” Ben said.
“I’m just very fortunate and blessed with
my mom and my stepdad and my dad.
His father gave him the skills to live in
the forest
“My dad’s a world-renowned firearms
expert,” Ben said. “I got my first rifle when
I was 3 days old. Not 3 years old; 3 days old.
By the time I was 1 0 ,1 had a collection that
was the envy of all the grown men in town.
My dad taught me how to hunt, fish, trap
and live off the land. And up where I’m
from, a lot of people are like th a t”
His stepfather gave him a solid work
ethic.
"I even got a good stepdad out of the
deal. He was the one I started working for
when I was 14 - carrying hod. Being a
hod carrier is where you carry big
buckets of mud for stucco. It’s very,
very brutal, hard work. We worked
sunup to sundown, six days a
week, sometimes seven. He taught
me well.”
In his 20s and 30s, Ben would
often spend summers camping in
the forest while working in
construction. He graduated from
carrying stucco mud to building concrete
foundations and then got into framing
houses.
When his church needed to mount a
steeple onto the roof, Ben made it happen.
“I had to cut four by fours and drill holes,
B
IN STORES
New Seasons Market, Whole Foods, Food Front
Cooperative Grocery, Green Zebra, Chuck’s
Produce and Will Leather Goods.
AT YOUR OFFICE
Interested In serving Central City Coffee at your
office? Get in touch w ith us and we can help you
make th a t happen. 503.226.7387
ON OUR WEBSITE
Buy Central City Coffee online and have It
shipped directly to you o r a friend.
AT KASBAH MOROCCAN CAFE
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newest spot (201 NW Davis Street), featuring
Central City Coffee! .
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Answers to Page 15 Puzzles
Street Roots • March 10-16, 2017
loaded up a little backpack with my Bible
and another co at I got on a bus to Portland
because that’s how much bus money I had.”
Devastated and homeless for the first
time in his life, he fell into a deep
depression. He had hoped the big city
would offer more job opportunities, but has
found it rough going.
Ben is getting back on his feet and
making new friends in Portland, many of
them through Street Roots. Two Street
Roots vendors bought a Santa hat for him
to wear before Christmas and help him sell
papers. Ben is now paying it forward by
coaching other vendors on how to sell
papers.
Besf of all, Ben met a Street Roots
customer, who is also a carpenter. The
customer has become a friend who has
hired Ben to work together on some
handyman jobs.
After a particularly tough job, they
took the next day off and went to the
coast
“I really enjoyed seeing a whole new
area,” Ben said. “It’s just beautiful out
there.”
Ben’s work has increased
along with his improved
of mind, and he
hopes he will be able to
save enough money
for re n t He says
talking with his
mother, sister
and best friend
have been
especially
encouraging
and he is
back
on track.
“They’re
good at
helping
” Ben
“One
at a
so I could bolt it up through the trusses,”
Ben said. “The way they built (the steeple),
the pitch was wrong. So I had to cut the
pitch right to fit the roof and flash it in.”
To lift thé steeple to the roof, Ben used
his ingenuity and friends who ran a crane at
a business next door to the church.
“I’ve known these guys since I was 5
years old,” Ben said. “Chris kicks up the
crane, we go over there, strap up the
steeple, and it was up in no time.
“I had an extraordinarily good reputation
for my work. People back home have been
hiring me all my life. My work is all over
Buena Vista, Salida, Leadville,
Fairplay and Alma.”
It was a shock to his
family and friends when
Ben abruptly left
“Six months ago, I
had a construction
business,” he said. “I
had a wife and two
kids - her two kids. I
raised them for seven
years. She didn’t want
to be faithful and
ruined i t I just had to
run. I left everything
I owned.”
“I just
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