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Jill Toyoshiba / KANSAS CITY STAR Past issues of Mother Earth News guided readers on everything from repairing a septic system to the latest on the medical benefits of herbs. The magazine, founded in 1970, has changed owners several times but is still published. EARTH • C0l)TinUEDFR0m9 Its current publisher, using words that could serve as an epitaph for a generation, said today’s Mother Earth News is “a bit more refined and less^ obnoxious.” “We’re probably not part of the revolution anymore,” said Bryan Welch, the publisher. The magazine, which in 1990 disappeared for several months after a previous owner suffered a financial collapse, is now on sound footing and poised to grow. Wallace Whitney, 29, is one of them. Whitney, a high school biology teacher, and his family live in Miami. They have been subscribers for three years. They use many of the magazine’s organic gardening tips, even living in the city. Thanks to Mother’s advice, the idea of someday living' on a farm no longer seems farfetched. “I think secretly we wish we could live off the land,” Whitney said. That desire doesn’t I come as a surprise to John Shuttleworth, who with his wife, Jane, started Mother Earth News in 1970. Their tenure was to last a decade. John Shuttleworth — long since divorced from Jane — has said little publicly about those years, figuring he had already had his say in the magazine. But recently he agreed to a telephone interview from his home. Shuttleworth, 68, was known for his strong views while at the magazine. The years have not mellowed him. “We’re raping the land even more than we did back then, and now we have an idiot in the White House,” he said. Digging ponds, building windmills and growing vegetables were all part of Shuttleworth’s upbringing on an Indiana farm. While many in the United States were still struggling from the Great Depression’s lingering effects, his dad and mom were able to set the table with meat, plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables and milk. Everything was grown or produced on the farm. “I thought this was the right way to live,” he said. He would find out in the 1970s that he was not alone. The number of subscribers soared to one million. Shuttleworth’s advice for readers: Technology is not going to make you happy. “My motto is, all computers are all bad, all the time.” HELLO • COnTinUED PROIT19 people.” WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CHILDHOOD MEMORY? “Going fishing with my grandad, because I love to fish, I Love my grandad, I love nature, I love myself and I love you.” WHAT’S YOUR BIGGEST FEAR? “Public speaking, because with public speaking I have to follow guidelines instead of being spontaneous.” IF YOU COULD EAT DINNER WITH ANY PERSON, WHO WOULD IT BE AND WHY? “Charlie Whitehurst, and then I’d stab him.” WHAT DO YOU DO IN YOUR FREE TIME? “Fish and hang out with my greatest friends in the world.” IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY ANIMAL AS A PET, WHAT WOULD IT BE AND WHY? “I’d have a tiger named Clemson and then I’d stab him.” WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH A MILLION DOLLARS? “I’d buy a doublewide trailer and sit on the money until it ran out.” FAVORITE QUOTE? “Touchdown Gamecocks.” WHAT DO YOU WANT EVERYONE READING THIS TO KNOW? “I just want to be loved..” — Jaren Hayes Gum • conTiniofRomg Matt Gearhart, a 27-year old also with a marketing background, subsequently came aboard as sales manager. Research showed the entrepreneurs that some 45 million Americans both chewed gum and sought caffeine. Moreover, they learned that an energy gum sold under the name Jolt, the same brand name as a popular energy drink, tested positively among focus groups. A licensing HpaI was cn h«pnnen H v 1 ✓ struck with Rochester, N.Y.-based Wet Planet Beverages, the maker of Jolt cola. It took another year and a half to create the right product. “We thought it would be easy to put caffeine in gum,” Molloy said. “But it turns out caffeine is one of the worst-tasting substances on earth.” Every month for 18 months Gass and Molloy believed they were a month away from the finished product. They eventually settled on two flavors — icy mint and spearmint. “We were resolved to make a product that was effective and good-tasting. We wanted it to be something we were proud of. This is what we quit our jobs for,” Gass said. The first packages of Jolt hit the shelves in Brooks Pharmacy stores in New England in 2003. But with the focus now shifted back toward the co founders’ area of expertise, GumRunners has budgeted i $4 million for marketing and advertising in 2006. Nevertheless, the marketing campaign got off to a good start recently. A full-page Jolt advertisement appeared next to a topless model in Sports Illustrated. Gass and Molloy expressed only mild concern that the ad might get overlooked in the swimsuit issue. I Solutions 3lsl°lqB3l1lvl1lsBqlvlHls S3A~3BgiddvB3N3V V A O nBc] 31AI I u|Bi s n o now 3 11 1 d I V 11 |SBB 11 3 1 3 11 I 3 B ■ 1__S 3_i _3_ _3__d__d_ a i aj : h < ol ^ : 3_S 3 Q _S _3 _U M _S_ _V _S jO _d d I 11 n I o 1