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Pride of place: Serious about giving
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| H&N photo by Andrew Mariman Arlie Ayers rubs the face of one of his five dogs, 12-year-old Shih Tzu Terra Lee, in the yard of his Klamath-area home Friday. |
Arlie Ayers does all he can to help people in need
By JILL AHO
H&N Staff Writer
Growing up, Arlie Ayers didn’t have much, but what he did have, he learned to share.
His farm worker family followed seasonal crops, migrating to wherever there was work.
“They called us transient workers, some called us white trash,” he said sitting in an informal dining room in his trailer. “All we had was what was on our back. Regardless of how poor we was, we always managed to help somebody.”
Ayers was born on a reservation to an American Indian mother and Irish father. The family picked cotton in Oklahoma for 25 cents a day. Ayers said he’s been feeding himself since he was 5.
“Things sure have changed. If you saw somebody who looked like he needed help, you helped him,” Ayers said.
Spirit of giving
Raised during the Depression, Ayers, 75, said a spirit of giving and community was necessary. “People had to help each other or you’d all starve to death. And some of them did.”
Today, Ayers does his part to ensure the people in his community don’t starve. For the last nine years or so, he has grown a garden on his property so he can give away the produce. He takes five-gallon buckets to the Gospel Mission several times each growing season.
“My vegetables aren’t like what you buy in the store,” he said with a note of pride. “If it’ll grow, I grow it.” Ayers has donated everything from tomatoes to eggplant to cantaloupe.
With the aid of his ex-wife Judy, Ayers estimates he helped 10 people this month.
Growing up with very few material possessions gave Ayers a unique perspective.
“It made me respect life and love,” he said.
“I have more love in my heart for my fellow man, as much as any man I’ve ever known and more than a lot of people.”
A religious man, Ayers once worked as a minister in the California prison system. His bookshelves are lined with well-worn Bibles, their spines showing years of use. For a man who only completed second grade, Ayers managed to educate himself in different ways.
In addition to Bible college, he’s been trained as a barber, worked as a housing contractor and served in the Army during the Korean War. His time in the service still holds emotional turmoil for him.
Now Ayers lives in his south suburban Klamath Falls home with Judy, their five dogs, six birds, one hamster and one Beta fish. His soft-heartedness is evident in the dogs he cares for, three small and two large, two quite old, the others quite young.
Ayers is worried about getting older. Caring for Judy, his 1.5 acres of land and the animals is time-consuming and burdensome.
“I just can’t take care of all of this stuff. I told them (at the Gospel Mission) that I don’t know if I can have your garden next year,” Ayers said. But, he said, the mission workers told him they’ll come and help.
His farm worker family followed seasonal crops, migrating to wherever there was work.
“They called us transient workers, some called us white trash,” he said sitting in an informal dining room in his trailer. “All we had was what was on our back. Regardless of how poor we was, we always managed to help somebody.”
Ayers was born on a reservation to an American Indian mother and Irish father. The family picked cotton in Oklahoma for 25 cents a day. Ayers said he’s been feeding himself since he was 5.
“Things sure have changed. If you saw somebody who looked like he needed help, you helped him,” Ayers said.
Spirit of giving
Raised during the Depression, Ayers, 75, said a spirit of giving and community was necessary. “People had to help each other or you’d all starve to death. And some of them did.”
Today, Ayers does his part to ensure the people in his community don’t starve. For the last nine years or so, he has grown a garden on his property so he can give away the produce. He takes five-gallon buckets to the Gospel Mission several times each growing season.
“My vegetables aren’t like what you buy in the store,” he said with a note of pride. “If it’ll grow, I grow it.” Ayers has donated everything from tomatoes to eggplant to cantaloupe.
With the aid of his ex-wife Judy, Ayers estimates he helped 10 people this month.
Growing up with very few material possessions gave Ayers a unique perspective.
“It made me respect life and love,” he said.
“I have more love in my heart for my fellow man, as much as any man I’ve ever known and more than a lot of people.”
A religious man, Ayers once worked as a minister in the California prison system. His bookshelves are lined with well-worn Bibles, their spines showing years of use. For a man who only completed second grade, Ayers managed to educate himself in different ways.
In addition to Bible college, he’s been trained as a barber, worked as a housing contractor and served in the Army during the Korean War. His time in the service still holds emotional turmoil for him.
Now Ayers lives in his south suburban Klamath Falls home with Judy, their five dogs, six birds, one hamster and one Beta fish. His soft-heartedness is evident in the dogs he cares for, three small and two large, two quite old, the others quite young.
Ayers is worried about getting older. Caring for Judy, his 1.5 acres of land and the animals is time-consuming and burdensome.
“I just can’t take care of all of this stuff. I told them (at the Gospel Mission) that I don’t know if I can have your garden next year,” Ayers said. But, he said, the mission workers told him they’ll come and help.
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Linda wrote on Nov 22, 2008 2:06 PM: