Parkrose resident Dave Luce is widely known as Can Man. He called the other day because he wants people to know he never stopped collecting cans for cash and giving it to Parkrose High School student groups. Seems a story we did about his charitable activities a few years ago (“Can Man Cashes it in” March 2012 MCM) led people to believe he ceased all his volunteer work for health reasons; he has not. “When it [the article] first came out, and it sounded like I retired from the whole thing,” Luce told us. “It didn’t say I only retired from the Boosters can drive; they figured I bunched the whole works, but I didn’t.”
He not only started a monthly collection at the middle school in 1994—which is what he stopped doing; the boosters took that over in 2012—but also did pickups during the rest of the month at some of the more than 200 homes and businesses that have one of his ubiquitous 55-gallon blue drums.
With 100 percent of the funds going to the Parkrose High School Senior All-Night Party and the Parkrose Boosters, Luce has raised more than $130,000 in the 20 years since he retired from the Port of Portland in 1994.
He still goes to people’s homes and businesses to collect returnables for the SANP. “I go to them. I still pick ‘em up, haul ‘em, sort ‘em and store ‘em,” he said. “It dropped off quite a bit. I think a lot of people are taking them to the Booster drive once a month, which is great, but they don’t want barrels full. They wanted ‘em sacked up.”
With improving health and help from his fishing buddies and senior parents, he still makes his rounds but is concerned because he is not getting calls for pickups like he used to. “I’m not hearing from them,” the 75-year-old Luce lamented. “Either they’re not saving ‘em for me, or they’re taking them to the monthly pickup.” He added, “I got people I haven’t heard from in over a year. Let ‘em know I’m still in business.”
If you want a barrel or to get a full one picked up, call the Can Man at 503-255-3745; he will be right over.