Definitely House Hunting

In a small khaki tent that shakes and rocks from the 18-wheelers roaring past on the interstate below, Mike MacKay, 30, cooks instant soup on his hot plate, clears his table on top of a portable toilet and defiantly mutters a solemn vow. "I'm set to do this for two or three years," he says. "My wife and I are determined to get a house." Pitted in a bizarre promotional contest to win an $18,000 mobile home, donated by Love Homes, a Pennsylvania firm, MacKay and two other men have been camping for the past 18 weeks on a 6-ft. by 48-ft. platform at the base of a billboard nearly overhanging the interstate cloverleaf in Allentown, Pa. Whoever stays longest wins. WSAN, a local AM radio station that advertises on the billboard, sought to promote its switch from country and western to nostalgia music last fall by launching the giveaway contest. To qualify, listeners had only to send in 25-words-or-less statements about why they wanted to compete. To the astonishment of Program Director Gene Werley, 600,000 entries flooded the station from hardy souls hoping for a chance to win a Cozy Cottage.

MacKay and his wife Linda alone submitted 47,000 entries. A drawing was held, and the three finalists were picked. All are residents of the Allentown area: MacKay, a house parent at a home for disturbed children; Ron Kistler 25, an unemployed baker; and Dalton Young, 23, an unemployed veteran. They settled onto the platform on Sept. 20. Sponsors gave each one a tent, radio, sleeping bag, portable toilet, telephone and an electronic game. Although they have their own heaters, under the rules they cannot have TVs, alcohol or, with occasional brief exceptions, visitors. Their families hoist up food and water in buckets attached to a rope.

The marathon has attracted international publicity. Locally, a bar keeps a blackboard with a running tally of odds on the probable winner. MacKay is currently ahead at 8 to 1. But his wife confesses to mixed feelings about the venture. "Sometimes I think my husband is nuts," Linda sighs. "But I am with him 100%." MacKay, who keeps busy by teaching himself to play the guitar, seems prepared for a long sojourn. "It's like putting money into a used car," he says. "I've got too much in this now to give it up. "