The Newark Advocate du lieu suivant : Newark, Ohio • 25

CONSTRUCTION FALLS Construction of new homes fell 7.2 percent in January, the government said. UNITED MAKES CHANGES United Airlines put its 17 flight kitchens up for sale, a move that would cut another 5,800 workers from the airline's payroll. -T" BllIlSMlg "Baby Boomers grew up with Westerns Marshal Dillon and his buddies dominated the tube Dusty trail leads to Old West Shop VIENNA, W. Va. West Virginia is not exactly the Old West, but a touch of the dusty trail is just off Interstate 77.

The Old West Shop is run by long-time western and cowboy enthusiast Roger Crowley. He teamed up with cowboy character actor Neil Summers to help produce the four-book series of "Official TV Westerns" that feature pictures and stories about the famous and not-so-memorable cowboy TV series that flooded the screen back in the 1950s and 60s. The shop features western items and has a growing mail-order business. Crowley plans to move his shop to new digs on an acre of ground in the near future and hopes he can generate a tourist business with all his western era paraphernalia. As the Baby Boomers become sentimental they look back fondly on the TV series that made them strap on their cap shooters and ride their Schwinn down the lonesome trail.

Crowley thinks the old TV western era will be a successful market. And besides, "this is fun," he says. in the 1950s, 60s sori andJonVoight. Summers starred as one of the gunslingers in one of the most-watched episodes in Gunsmoke history called "Mart's Love Story" where it is inferred that Matt, maybe, just maybe, had a night in bed with something other than his boots. The Westerns began to wear thin during the turbulent 1960s, especially in violent 1968 following the Martin Luther King and Robert F.

Kennedy assassinations. America, seemingly, had had enough of TV gun violence. Summers recalled working on the set of a western movie starring Glenn Ford, "Heaven With a Gun," when the movie studio sent down memos to tone down the violence and reduce the killings. When asked to list his all-time favorite Westerns, Summers leads off with Gunsmoke, followed by "Wagon Train," "The Virginian," "Have Gun Will Travel and the short-lived "The Westerner" that starred Brian Keith. Summers said the TV Western "will never come back the way they were." But then again neither will Saturday nights, Dad's bath and Mom's fudge.

By LARRY FUGATE Advocate Reporter It was a Saturday night ritual at our house. Dad would take his Saturday night bath right after supper and "come downstairs smelling like an Aqua Velva waterfall. Mom would me to the kitchen sink and give me my weekly hair washing. Then after cleaning up she would Imake a batch of her delicious milk-chocolate heaven fudge. And then we'd settled in front of 'the black-and-white Philco to -watch "Have Gun, Will Travel" at 9:30 followed by Marshal Dillon at 10 on "Gunsmoke." In their heyday, the Westerns ruled TV land with as many as 35 a week on the tube.

"They were morality plays it was good versus evil," said Neil Summers, a veteran cowboy character actor living in Sherman Oaks, Calif. "The Western is an authentic American art form." The TV Western also seemed to mimic the U.S.-Soviet rivalry of the 1950s and 60s. While the Western has fizzled out as a TV format, they remain popular abroad. Summers is working on "Lucky Luke," a cow- boy filmed in New Mexico that is No. 1 in several foreign countries.

"I always loved Westerns," Summers said. "I always wanted to be a cowboy in the movies." Summers has written a series of "Official TV Western Books" that revisits the TV era of the fast draw, riding the ranges, stampedes and dusty trails. Some of the shows are well-known TV lore: "Hopalong Cassidy," "The Lone Ranger" and "Cisco Kid." Those were basically "kiddy cowboys" as Summers calls them. The Western began to develop adult themes in the late 1950s and Summers credits "Gunsmoke" as the first adult Western. Gunsmoke was the longest running show in TV history with a strong ensemble cast and some of the leading stars of the time appeared as guests including Bette Davis, Nick Nolte, Charles Bron- ff tm kJ L.m...,.., I WT ,7 rl 7-- if Neil Summers are many companies out there that will tell you they will help for a very modest amount of money $500 or $600, which is followed by a request for another $4,000 or so.

In the view of state attorney generals across the country, these companies very rarely, if ever, deliver what they promise. You will just wind up frustrated and poorer. Taking any idea to market can be a very expensive and frustrating experience. You should know that many more failures are recorded than successes. On the other side of that coin, those who do succeed can be rewarded handsomely.

Good luck. DEAR BRUCE: The "900" telephone number business appears to be growing. I have received many offers in the mail. All I have to do is send some money to get started and earn big The Lawman was a Warner Brothers production that featured John Russell as Marshal Dan Troop and 1958 heartthrob Peter Brown as fast gun deputy Johnny McKay. The show ran four years on ABC.

Brown later starred in "Laredo" and had a successful soap opera career. Photo courtesy of Roger Crowley. Hugh O'Brian starred in the "Life and Legend of VVyatt Earp," and debuted in September 1955. It became a hit, making O'Brian's name a household word. In its six-year run, 226 half-hour episodes were filmed, all in black and white, and occasionally it was the nation's No.

1 show. facing debt, bankruptcy is the only alternative 7- 1 For some DEAR BRUCE: For several years, I worked in a fast-paced, high-paying job. Thinking my position was secure, I ran up bills according to what I could pay. It took my entire paycheck to keep up with the minimum payments each month. Now I find myself unemployed.

If I worked three full-time jobs, I would not have enough money to pay these bills, which I foolishly brought down on my own head. The credit companies don't want excuses, they want money. Each of these creditors will eventually take me to court for non-payment. I still won't have enough money. Other than a consolidation loan, 'what can you suggest? I'm sure I am not alone with this problem.

Our savings are exhausted and the wolf is at the door. Please do not use my name. READER, Billerica, Mass. money. What are your thoughts? Is this just another unworkable home business, or might this just be an opportunity? G.T., Goshen, Ind.

DEAR G.T.: You didn't mention your age. But judging from your handwriting, I have to believe that fou are not a baby boomer. Infortunately, "900" phone vultures offering unbelievable business opportunities prey on those least able to afford a loss. The literature that you sent promises $60,000 in a month, on a $200-plus investment, plus a few dollars for advertising. Common sense would tell you this is impossible.

If that kind of money were available, why in the world would they have to sell the program to you? They could do it themselves. By and large, this is a thing to be very wary of, and I would save my money. a patentable idea can be determined by an attorney who specializes in this area. To go through the patent process can cost between $2,500 and $5,000 and take between one and two years. As for the recycled plastic or any materials in a product for children very, very careful attention has to be paid to any possible toxicity.

A key factor is the ability of the product to survive chewing, and all the things that kids do to things. There are some heavy-duty liability questions here. You probably will have to absorb the initial cost of manufacturing and marketing, to prove to a larger manufacturer that you do indeed have a viable item. In short, the whole process can be extremely expensive. One note of warning there DEAR READER: You say you used your entire paycheck to pay the monthly credit card minimums, but you were OK.

Nothing could be further from the truth. When you are only paying the minimum amounts due on these bills, you are in deep trouble, and you should recognize it. You didn't mention how much you owe, but a debt consolidation loan is not going to be of the slightest assistance. All it would do is shift the debt from one place to another even if you could get a loan while unemployed. If the bills are as large as you indicate, it may well be that bankruptcy is your only alternative.

It is not an option that I recommend lightly, or with any degree of pleasure. If it is as you stated (that three jobs would not pay off the debts), chances are BRUCE WILLIAMS that this is the only avenue available to you. I guess we all suffer from the point of view that earning and spending will last forever. There is a lesson there for all of us. DEAR BRUCE: I have recently come up with a great idea for a playpen that could possibly be made from recycled plastics.

I need information about patents, finding manufacturers, etc. L.W, Waterloo, Iowa DEAR L.W.: Whether you have.