Vendor Spotlight

ALONZO K. GOES FROM A BOAT TO BELLEVUE, WITH MANY STOPS IN BETWEEN

IMAGES AND STORY BY HANNAH HERNER

Before he became a mainstay at Old Hickory Boulevard and Highway 70 South in Bellevue, Alonzo K. had been around the world.

He joined the Navy right out of high school and got to work as a boatswain’s mate, which means he got to do a lot of different maintenance-style jobs on the destroyer he was stationed on. He was a “swabby,” has he put it. Stationed in the North Atlantic Ocean, Alonzo relishes the time he got to spend in England, Germany and parts of The Caribbean.

“It was a good experience, I got to travel and do a lot of things,” he says. “It was a great learning experience for me. I got the benefit of going to college, free education.”

Alonzo grew up on the water in South Carolina, and spent a lot of time on his uncle’s boat. It was he who taught Alonzo to swim.

By the time he was taking Navy swimming tests, “Water wasn’t nothing new for me,” Alonzo says.

After he served two years, Alonzo took classes at Milwaukee Area Technical College in Wisconsin, then went to another technical college in Atlanta, went to University of South Carolina for a time, and even took a few classes here in Nashville. He didn’t get a degree, but got a few certificates, with the focus on business management. Alonzo is quick to get bored when he stays in one place too long, always itching to see somewhere new, he says. Next on his list is to visit Canada, and the United States West Coast.

When Alonzo started at The Contributor 10 years ago, he was living at a shelter. He applied for a housing program through Veteran’s Affairs. The steady income he had developed selling the paper helped him qualify for public housing. Now, he stays in The Nations.

“I pretty much know all my customers and they know me. I’m not getting rich but I can sell some papers and make some income,” he says. “We talk about just about anything, sports, entertainment, housing, problems that we have, life in general.”

Alonzo especially likes to talk about the Tennessee Titans and action movies. With his dapper clothes, it’s important to him to convey a well-kept image to his customers. Backed up by his studies, he’s a businessman.

During his time selling The Contributor, Alonzo became old enough to start receiving social security, but he still sells the paper for supplemental income, and to get to see his customers.

“I don’t want to be cooped up in the house all day,” he says. “That’s not good, like a couch potato.”