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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (July 6, 2018)
Street Roots • July 6-12, 2018 Vendors Page 6 © lights,” he said. “My dad was full of wanderlust, he always wanted to see what was over the next hill.” C.W. inherited his father’s love of the open road and as a result has led a unique BY HELEN HILL STA FF W R ITER life as a skilled worker throughout the Pacific Northwest. “I’ve had a really good .W. has deep roots with Street Roots. life. I grew up in the land of opportunity, He was one of the earliest vendors in •running heavy equipment when I was 17 the 1990s when it was a fledgling paper called Burnside Cadillac. “I sold it years on old. My life kept getting bigger and bigger,” he said. the move. It supplied my needs,” he said. Hired at the tender age of 17 as a C.W. ended up in the Pacific Northwest welder’s assistant on the Trans-Alaska thanks to the infamous Columbus Day Storm of 1962. He was born in Minneapolis Pipeline, C.W. saw a lot of country from the North Slopes to the Brooks Range. “Alaska and barely remembers the small mom-and- is huge, like an ocean pop ice cream store called Victory Dairy his father ran. When C.W. was 5 years old, his of mountains, you father lost the store and the family took to can’t see the the road, traveling the country in search of end.” He work. C.W. and his brothers and sisters remembers bounced along in a wooden box built onto working out the bed of their International Harvester of Atigun truck, while his mother and father rode up Pass, front with the babies. sitting on The family just happened to be near busses Portland when the storm hit. The cyclone- being force winds (160 mph recorded on the pulled up. Morrison Bridge) left thousands of homes Christian “C.W.” Witt CENTRAL C ITY C O FFE E Sourcing & roasting craft coffee to benefit programs at Central City Concern. IN STORES New Seasons Market, Whole Foods, Food Front Cooperative Grocery, Green Zebra, Chuck's Produce, Food Fight!, Cherry Sprout Produce, and - . Know Thy Food. AT YOUR OFFICE Interested in serving Central City Coffee at your office? Get in touch with us and we can help you make that happen. 503.226.7387 ON OUR WEBSITE Buy Central City Coffee online and have it • shipped directly to you or a friend. AT KASBAH MOROCCAN CAFE Get your espresso favorites at Old Town's newest spot (201 NW DavisStreet), featuring Central City Coffee! Follow our Facebook page for updates and specials. centralcitycoffee.org facebook.com/CentralCityCoffee coffee@ccconcern.org Answers to Page 15 Puzzles B in need of repair. “The truck had worn out when the storm hit,” he said. “They asked my father if he could roof and he said ‘Hell yeah!’” C.W.’s father remained a journeyman roofer for the rest of his life. When C.W. was in third grade, his father moved th e f a m i l y a g ain , p u llin g iHraiierover the then still rough and challenging Al-Can Highway. They lived in a fairgrounds parking lot for a time. “I remember my dad shimmying up the power pole to hook up an extension cord so we had mountainsides by a Cat machine in icy fog so thick you couldn’t see out the windows. There were runaway rigs, grizzly bears and welding tasks in sub-zero weather, but the money was good and C.W was able to put some by. “I bought a piece of land 40 miles outside of Fairbanks near the Salcha River and built a log cabin 12-foot by 16-foot,” he recalled. He married a young Alaskan Native woman named Patty. C.W. and Patty had three daughters: Sheri, Vanessa and Rachel. But Patty died of breast cancer when the children were still young. “I lost it. My older sister and her husband stepped in to help. I ended up working down in Portland again.” C.W.’s work ethic has always been exceptional. He’s done everything from long-haul trucking to journeyman carpentry, roofing and cement finishing. “I’m a good worker. I can see what needs to be done next, and I can handle anything. I was the guy who would go anywhere and do anything. I’ve always been that way.” He describes himself as a “multi-potentialite,” a person whose skills and interests cover multiple fields. “It’s been a blessing and a curse,” he said. T v e had an interesting life, but I haven’t been that stable.” C.W. has returned to Street Roots this past year. “It’s my lifeline,” he said. “Street Roots gives me a reason to clean up, take care of myself. It offers stability. I don’t have to ask anybody for anything. I am providing a service and a link to alternative reading. I don’t have to , sell the paper, it sells itself.” He doesn’t have a specific spot; he sells the paper wherever he happens to be. Meanwhile, C.W. dreams of walking the final 76 mile leg of the Louis and Clark Trail from Portland to Astoria. He’s completed most of the other sections from Missouri to Portland. “I’d like to take my time, enjoy the walk. Sleep in by the river and sit with a fishing hook.” ON THE BRINK OF INSANITY JUST A BUMP IN THE ROAD/ A WALK IN THE PARK Part 1 by Leo Rhodes . • Hating where I’m at!!! 6 9 s k £ 8 7 L p 8 £ 6 7 L 9 9 7 k L p 9 9 6 £ e L p 8 k 7 9 6 9 9 k L 6 £ 8 P 8 6 7 9 9 p £ k k 7 9 £ z 6 fr 8 s £ 8 9 p k L 7 L p 6 7 8 9 k 9 p k 8 9 7 L 9 6 £ Life’s journey isn’t easy Depending on the path you choose Or When life slips you a curve Life was hard Now it’s even harder Energy drained Self pity Loss of hope Anger And many other emotions Taking time to Valuate options Three come to mind 1. Self pity Be miserable the rest of my life 2. Pull up my boot straps. And get out of this mess 3. Suicide Answer is easy I’m a fighter!!! Life is hard But Nothing in life is easy My war cry became “Don’t worry I’ll be healthy again This is just a bump in the road A walk in the park.”
