• November 28, 1977
• Vol. 8
• No. 22

Lookout

Charles Lockerby celebrated his 26th birthday last May with the realization that he was worth a million dollars. A graduate of Occidental College and Stanford University, Lockerby invented the "Moisture Minder," which enables brown thumbs like himself to keep their plants alive and well. "I was always killing my plants," he explains. "I was on my 12th plant and the guy at the store said I over watered it and there ought to be a law against people like me. That made me think." Within a year he had devised the Moisture Minder, which retails at five for $1.59. It is stuck into the soil, and the word "moist" appears in the absorbent lettering inside the plastic tube until the plant needs water; then the word disappears. The giant chemical company Ortho bought six million units from Lockerby and markets them under its own name. Because of his success, Lockerby and his wife, Sue, a chemist, have moved from a student apartment to a $250,000 home near San Francisco. "The money," he says, "will enable me to continue my life as the mad scientist, dreaming up new ideas and tinkering, without having to worry about paying the rent." So far his tinkering has produced a chimneyless fireplace (chemicals get rid of the smoke) and a helium-filled silver balloon (for decorating kids' rooms, among other uses) that is designed to last indefinitely.

The Castellucci sisters of Orlando, Fla. are by their own admission "not the best young golfers in the nation," but when all six pile out of the family van at tournaments, they certainly make an impression. The six are, from left, Rosemary, 17, Debbie, 16, Dottie, 14, Mary, 13, Vanessa, 11, and Maria, 5. In four years of competition the family has managed to collect 99 trophies, and the 100th is on the way. Mary took a "hole in one" contest last summer. Behind the sisters' achievements is their dad, Rick, a retired Marine who provides both encouragement and discipline. (Their mother works as a clerk in a convenience store.) The Castelluccis practice two and a half hours a day at the Orange Tree Country Club, study rules and course etiquette Saturday mornings and squeeze in 18 holes in the afternoon. "The toughest time for practice," says Rick, "is in the winter when there's so much going on at school." But the girls' academic work has not suffered. "I have threatened that if a grade didn't come up, that girl wouldn't have to worry about golf for a while," Rick says, "but I've never had to enforce it." He hands out $1 awards for the best rounds—then tries to win the money back on the putting green. "Lately," he admits, "I haven't been winning." Oh, some of those trophies on display in the Castellucci home aren't for golf at all. They are bowling awards won by big sister Patti, 19.