Inventor pins hopes on ‘beer light’

Bill Metzger has so many ideas running through his head he has trouble sleeping at night.

Some are song lyrics and melodies. Others are products he’d like to invent to make things easier — or just innovative ideas to make some fast cash.

By KAYLEY MENDENHALL, Chronicle Staff Writer

A lot of them never turn into anything. But one of his latest ideas simply wouldn’t leave him alone, so he made it a reality.

"I’ve always liked things with double meanings," Metzger, 62, said. Which is why his version of a beer light, made out of material from Coors Light beer bottles and holders makes perfect sense.

"Light up your party with a Coors Light," Metzger said as he flipped the switch for a lamp he constructed using a large beer bottle as the base and a 12-pack case holder as the shade. He attached a light bulb to the top of the bottle, ran a cord through the glass out a hole drilled in the bottom and had a completed invention.

After a year-long process, Metzger got a design patent on the light. He now plans to approach Coors and Budweiser companies in hopes they will buy his idea and mass manufacture the product.

"I’ve had a lot of ideas, but this one I just decided to go through with," he said. "I don’t even drink beer, that’s the strange thing."

Metzger moved to Montana about 18 years ago and has spent his life as a self-described "jack-of-all-trades." He started out teaching mathematics and even wrote a math text book. He’s an auctioneer who wanted to auction real estate, but before he could do so, local realtor Lloyd Mandeville told him to get a real estate license.

"That’s sort of how he got into real estate," Mandeville said, "because of me."

They had a great time auctioning real estate back in the day and eventually Metzger opened One Stop Realty in Four Corners.

He writes songs and has local band Montana Rose record them — although none of his songs appear on their albums. Metzger also writes poetry and recently self-published an inspirational, self-help book.

"I don’t like doing the same thing over and over," he said. "I get bored."

That tendency to switch careers and passions can be good and bad. Metzger said he has definitely learned a lot through the years, but he knows the most successful people are those who stick with what they start and become experts over time.

"I’m probably not worth a damn at any of it," he said.

It’s not easy to make an invention happen — but marketing a new product and selling it is even more difficult than conceiving and creating the idea.

Metzger said having his light beer light picked up by a large brewing company and manufactured is his ultimate goal. He’d like to see one of his lights sitting on every television set in the country.

Kayley Mendenhall is at [email protected]

http://bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2002/12/24/news/backroadsbzbigs.txt