Without Scrap, They’d Be Heaps

--A lover of old buses defends the collection of eight relics in his backyard at Union Township, N.J. “If I hadn’t saved them, they would have been cut up, sent to Japan and maybe come back as Toyotas,” said Brian O’Neill, 46, a train engineer who began his hobby 14 years ago. O’Neill said he repairs his rusty beasts and registers them as “historic vehicles. People collect fire engines and old trucks, but nobody was collecting buses,” he said. “Once I realized the historic value of these buses, I thought it would be a shame to scrap them.” But some of his neighbors claim O’Neill is operating a depot from his backyard and creating an eyesore. Fellow bus lovers have given him $2,000 for a “bus defense fund,” but O’Neill plans to move anyway. He’s taking his six children, six dogs, five cars and eight buses to Raubsville, Pa., where he owns land--and six more buses.

--Millionaire publisher Malcolm Forbes inaugurated his latest yacht--the 151-foot Highlander V--with a party for more than 100 guests. They included Barbara Walters, Occidental Petroleum Chairman Armand Hammer, Gloria Vanderbilt, Princess Lee Radziwill, AT&T; Chairman Charles L. Brown, New Jersey Gov. Thomas H. Kean and publishing magnate Rupert Murdoch. The yacht carries a pair of racing speedboats, two motorcycles and a helicopter. “You have to be mobile when you’re in my business,” Forbes joked with John S. Reed, chairman of Santa Fe Industries. “You have to be ready to flee at any moment.” The yacht, which requires a crew of 12 and can cruise 3,000 miles without refueling, has five staterooms, six salons and 14 bathrooms with gold fittings.

--Hank Williams Jr. is moving his home and headquarters from the northern Alabama town of Cullman to Paris, Tenn., taking his entire cottage industry with him. The move means about 30 people will be relocating along with Williams’ band, fan club and his Montana Exchange, a clothing and country music memorabilia store. Williams--who will be closer to his favorite hunting and fishing territory--plans to convert his Paris nightclub into offices and storage space for his band’s equipment.

--Playboy publishing empire founder Hugh Hefner turned 60 on Wednesday, and says he is enjoying each decade more than the last. “Let’s hope the next 60 years are as wonderful,” he said in Los Angeles. Hefner, who founded Playboy 32 years ago on a shoestring budget, said he spends most of his time these days writing his autobiography. He also said that sex, the basis of his publishing success, remains one of his chief interests. However, he has given up his trademark pipe and the Pepsi he once drank day and night.