On Feb. 21, 1977, Julius Westheimer wrote his first column for The Evening Sun. Since then nothing -- not a stock market crash, vacations, bad weather, even illnesses in the family -- has stopped him from filing "The Ticker" twice weekly.

Until this week, that is, when an illness ends his streak. He will return to his column-writing duties as soon as he is able.

Mr. Westheimer, 77, grew up talking about stocks with his father, Milton F. Westheimer, over the dinner table. After a brief tenure in retailing, he worked for the Baltimore stock brokerage Baker Watts and Co. in 1961.

His columns have helped steer readers through four presidents, dozens of tax changes and a four-fold increase in the Dow Jones industrial average.