Vendor Spotlight – Mike and Devin

Mike (left) and Devin

Wheeling natives Mike and Devin are lifelong best friends who can often be spotted around Wheeling “horseplaying around,” as Devin likes to say. They are also two of Mustard Seed Mountain’s hardworking vendors, who sell the paper on the street and at several locations around town.

Mike and Devin’s moms were childhood best friends, so the pair met when they were in diapers and spent much of their time growing up together. Now, both in the latter half of their thirties, Mike and Devin say they’re still more like brothers than friends.

“I tell people he’s pretty much a brother from another mother,” Devin said. “That’s why we’re always horseplaying around and goofing off and wrestling and scraping ourselves up in the process.”

Mike is known around town as ‘Cowboy Mike’ due to his love for country music and the cowboy hat he often dons – especially when he sings karaoke at the local bars. His go-to song is Dixieland Delight by Alabama. Devin, on the other hand, likes doing word searches. 

“My nose is always stuck in that. If I ain’t reading the Bible I’m doing word searches,” he said. 

Both friends have struggled on and off with homelessness – Mike for about eight years starting in 2014. Criminal charges at the time were a barrier for Mike when he was trying to secure housing. He has now lived in his apartment for the last four years – the longest he has been in one place. Devin got into public housing at the same time as Mike, but became homeless again about six months ago.

Both Mike and Devin say homelessness in Wheeling has changed a lot in the last decade or so. 

“When I was homeless, it was a whole lot different than it is now,” Mike said. “You never really heard of overdoses, like there weren't people dying.” 

Devin agreed, saying the opioid crisis and other drugs becoming more prevalent on the streets changed things for the worse, making the city feel less safe due to overdoses and an increase in attention from the police. 

“Before the drugs started coming into the picture the worst you had to worry about was somebody getting drunk. Other than that, nobody really bothered nobody, nobody was stealing from each other, and it was a whole lot different,” Devin said.

Mike heard about HoH-Share, Inc. and met Director Kate Marshall early on in his struggle with homelessness. The organization provided support and reprieve from the streets for both Devin and Mike at different points. Now, the friends volunteer at the House of Hagar most weeks. For Mike, it’s a way to say thank you for the help he received when he was homeless, and pay it forward to others struggling with the same thing. 

Mike first vended Mustard Seed Mountain when it launched in 2021, while Devin started as a first time vendor just a few months ago. He said he likes having the opportunity to meet different people around town that he might not otherwise talk to.

“It’s something different,” Devin said. “I’m always up for something different. Also the fact that it’s West Virginia’s first street paper makes it an even better opportunity to be a part of. It’s pretty interesting and gives me an opportunity to make a little money.” 

Mike said he appreciates being involved with the street paper because it features stories that might not otherwise be told.

“People have stories of their life in there – people that are coming out of homelessness, people in homelessness. You learn a lot about different aspects of that,” he said.

To support Mike and Devin’s vending efforts, pick up a copy of MSM from Table 304 or the Bridge Tavern, or catch them around town.