THE GENERAL LEE Duke of Trumbull County is now a star all on his own

By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
CHAMPION -- Raymond Kohn enjoyed "The Dukes of Hazzard" so much while growing up in Leavittsburg, he swore some day he'd own a car like the General Lee.
Just like the stars of the show, Bo and Luke Duke, he also wasn't stopping at traffic lights.
Kohn had to lose the idea of blowing through traffic lights, now that he's 28 and living in an old house with a barn, chickens and lots of land in Champion with his wife and three kids.
A dream come true
But he has lived his dream of owning a car like the famous 1969 orange Dodge Charger used to the maximum in the 1979-1985 television series.
In 1996, at 17, Kohn bought a brown Charger for $800 and set out to turn it into something special. It took him about eight years and $30,000, but by the time it was done, the car was among the best replica General Lee anywhere.
That was proved, Kohn said, when the car was selected by MTV for use in its "Your Movie Show" to help promote last summer's Dukes of Hazzard movie, which featured Jessica Simpson as cousin Daisy Duke.
Kohn said his General Lee was chosen from about 20 that went to Covington, Ga., where the MTV show was filmed.
Since then, the car has come to the attention of some of the TV show's stars: John Schneider, who played Bo Duke; and Ben Jones, who was Cooter. Both asked Kohn to bring his General Lee to car shows so it could be part of the festivities. The events allowed Kohn to meet all of the show's actors.
A full time job
With help from these events and from the Internet, Kohn's General Lee has become known far and wide, he said, and led to the car's appearing at more than 100 events in 2005 alone, he said.
"When you're the General Lee, everybody looks," Kohn said. "It's a celebrity."
Last weekend, he took the General Lee to the Duke Fest in Nashville and afterward had a booking in Florida to give an 8-year-old boy a Dukes of Hazzard birthday using the car. He also has provided use of the car for funerals and weddings.
Though Kone works full time at Emerine's Towing of Champion, taking the car to events all over the United states has also become a full-time job.
The events are paying off. Kohn and his wife, Tina, sell General Lee T-shirts, hats, flags, key chains, model cars and photographs. The couple also sell a lot of photographs of General Lee fans sitting inside the car.
Back home on North Park Extension, Kohn often puts the General Lee and his other replica car, the Sheriff Roscoe police car, in the front yard for passersby to see. He said it's common for people to stop and ask if they can have a picture taken. Kohn is happy to oblige.
This summer Kohn said the cars will be available for fans to see at the Trumbull County Fair.
Appeal
Kohn said the rural "good old boys" flavor of the show appealed to him because it somewhat matched his upbringing, but he still loves the show and watches reruns with his kids on the Country Music Channel.
The show was about the Duke boys, assisted by their cousin Daisy and their Uncle Jesse, rooting out the corrupt practices of Hazzard County Commissioner Boss Hogg and his bumbling Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane.
It featured the singing of country superstar Waylon Jennings, whose famous theme song told of the "two good old boys, never meanin' no harm. Beats all you never saw, been in trouble with the law since the day they was born."
"The good guys always win," Kohn said of the show's theme. "It was a clean family show. You didn't have to worry about muting it."
He added that he often reinforces lessons to his own kids by pointing to things the Uncle Jesse character says in the show.
"He steered the boys in the right direction," Kohn said.
runyan@vindy.com