May 1952

What became of the man I married?

There is one luxury that any man, rich or poor, could give his wife. It is absolutely free, it costs him nothing, and it is, curiously enough, the one thing that his wife wants more than anything under heaven. Furthermore, it is something that has a great deal to do with keeping his marriage permanent and happy. Yet, by some perverse force of fate, it is the one thing that the average American male puts the least stock in.

"I made your gift myself"

Mother's Day and Father's Day are just ahead on the calendar. For these and other big occasions, nothing will give your children more satisfaction than making your gifts themselves. They'll probably need your help in assembling the materials and will have to be shown what to do. But you'll be surprised at the talents your youngsters will uncover, and they'll have the thrill of creating something useful.

Budget ways with big windows

Attic ideas you can use

Do your trees look like this?

Ever get caught in a "vicious circle"? If you have upright junipers or redcedars growing around your home-- with apple trees, flowering crabs, hawthorns, or related kinds nearby-- you know what we mean.

Startling new find may stop plant troubles

A well-known fungicide-- Phygon-- used in a new way, promises to wipe out the threat of crop-destroying diseases caused by fungi.

Have you heard the Latest Garden News?

An apple with tremendous appeal for the home gardener is the new Earli-Jondel, introduced this year by the Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station.

What we are building today, and why

In the past five years, a new type of home has become the rule rather than the exception in America. One cause is social. Our pattern of living has changed. Informality is the goal; we care less for impressing others and more for our own family's comforts. Today's homes reflect that change-- unpretentious, yet organized and built so they almost run themselves.

Its open plan makes it seem big

There was a time when the builder of a small home sacrificed room size in order to have enough halls to make every room accessible.

It's engineered to speed home chores

Times have changed, that's for sure. The era of inexpensive and available housekeeping help is scarcely a memory. Mother now shoulders the load of cleaning, cooking, laundering, ironing, sewing, shopping, and building character in the kids.

There's drama in site and structure

Time was when most smart, new homes were balanced boxes, set primly atop a level lot. The man who wanted to be bold painted his shutters (that wouldn't shut) brown instead of green. If you wanted to build on the side of a hill, you had holes in your head-- but you could get by with it by setting your level-lot house up on stilts and pretending the slope wasn't there.

Magnificent color at first try

Tuberous begonias-- what are they? Very briefly, they're a group of some of the most spectacular flowers you or anyone else can grow. They rival orchids, roses, lilies, carnations, and camellias. They come in every color but blue. They can't Stand cold, but they bloom handsomely where they get only flickering light, and even heavy shade, through the middle of the day.

THE OZARKS

The Ozark mountain country of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma is a country where you can get a sunburn in May and October, same as July-- where the mountains aren't as high as the Rockies or the Smokies, but where you can fall off a cliff just as easily-- where towns have names like Kissee Mills, Yellville, and Peculiar where you can go through a cave a day and not see them all-- where general stores, sitting alone off the beaten tracks, carry everything from needles to tractors --where a main-line railroad train is called "double-geared lightnin"-- and where your family of four can still vacation for a day on $10, and do it like royalty.

Grow plenty to cut

Try these fresh planting ideas

We shot the Salmon River rapids

I was as keyed up as my boys. We were on our way, seeking adventure in the Salmon River wilderness area, just stopping in Arco, Idaho, to call home-- Phoenix, Arizona-- to tell Gladys that everything was all right with us.

Who says an old kitchen's hopeless?

Ironing's easy if you outfit your iron

Try these tricks on cleaning day

Shoe buffer will polish table tops to a hard, bright luster. Get a buffer to use for this job.-- Phyllis Emery, Rush City, Minnesota.

Remodeling can give you a low-cost home

You can save that paintbrush

A new look--a new life

The juvenile-court judge ran his fingers through a shock of unruly white hair and moodily studied the 15-year-old delinquent who stood before him, eyes smoldering in open resentment. Henry had been involved in a series of petty thefts, he was a member of a gang of young toughs who had been inciting after-dark terror on the streets of Los Angeles, and his past record plainly indicated that a term behind bars was properly in order.

Best care for sheer curtains

In spite of their fragile appearance, quality sheer curtains you buy today can last as long as any curtains ever made. They're easy to care for, too. All you need do is give them the same simple care you give other fine furnishings.

What's wrong with this family?

Family holidays and recreation are a source of conflict and misunderstanding in many homes. The Colbys show respect for each other's interests, with concern for the family welfare. They display good judgment when they decide that the family doesn't always have to take a "family vacation" to have a good time.

Your pet and mine

We want to acquire a nice dog for our little boy. Is il true a mongrel is more intelligent or inclined to be healthier than a purebred dog?-- Mrs. F. P.C., Ohio.

Make every inch of space count

It's geared to present-day living

In the days of big attics, full basements, and tag ends of space in between, orderly living wasn't a problem. Anything you didn't need right now, you stashed away.

The Family Car Engine tune-up

Most automobile mechanics regard a periodic engine tune-up as the most important step in the care of your car. Tune-up is actually the adjustment of the assemblies, such as the carburetor, distributor, and spark plugs.

Keep your mower running smoothly

The best side trip I ever took

I was traveling Highway 26 from Casper, Wyoming, to Lincoln, Nebraska, for the first time, when I drove into the little town of Fort Laramie. I remembered there had been a fort by that name in my history books, so I made inquiry about it at a service station.

How to store a card table

Manners for children haven't changed

"The manners of today's children are positively atrocious!" If you're a parent, you've probably been made uneasy more than once by just such criticism. You'll be comforted to know the same accusation has been made of every younger generation since Adam's time. Here's part of a rhyme for children written in 1883:

Timesaving sewing gadgets

Story back of your dishes

Exquisite dish patterns record legends, customs, and the beauty of nature in stunning designs. Each is an artistic interpretation by skilled craftsmen. When you select dishes, choose them to harmonize with your furnishings. The history of famous dishes gives a cue to the kind of setting in which they'll look their best

Baby the metal around your house

Chief enemies of your home's metal parts and accessories are corrosion, abrasion, and, occasionally, your own metal-cleaning habits. You can reduce the destructive effects of all three, save the cost of hard-to-get replacements, and have a brighter, more smoothly working home by taking a few precautions.

Tips to ease those boring jobs

Decorate your walls

Make your garage yield extra work spare

Shade or sun at your pleasure

Try these ideas for easier living

All slicked up for morning

It's no struggle for me to get out of bed in the morning because my cleaning's half done the night before. The secret is time rearrangement. There are no tricks involved and no special equipment.

Big pickings from small spaces

Don't pass up the chance to cash in on a ready supply of the vegetables your family likes because you feel you don't have the space to grow them.

Outdoor living--teen-ager styled!

Portable barbecues you can make

Dahlias--the ABC's of growing them

The diary of a Plain dirt gardener

May 1 Bright summer day, thermometer up to 85 or thereabout. Dandelions yellow all over our neglected lawn. And a mountain of work to be done all at once-- which won't be done that way.

Article

MAY GARDEN REMINDERS: Now's the time to. . .

Set out bedding plants-- geraniums, lantana, petunias, snapdragons-- when danger of frost is past. Plant glad bulbs at intervals of about two weeks and you'll get a succession of bloom.

Invitations with party appeal

Friendly, clever invitations tell your guests that this party is going to be special. Eye-catching invitations arc easy to make, too! Let your family help design these intriguing messages, and it will be extra fun. Collect a few trinkets, paper, ink. scissors, and paste.

A mother's prayer

Tips on table setting

Q How far from the edge of the table should you place silverware, plates, napkins?

Contest for cooks

New recipe contest offers $70 for recipes of favorite Christmas Cookies or Midwinter Salads. Cook-of-the-Month will be mailed $10. Twenty other winners will receive $3 each. Eight of the winning recipes will be pictured in Cooks' Round Table next December.

THE MAN NEXT DOOR

"The really smart girl can refuse a kiss," Grandma Hillis suggested, coaching some teen-agers, "without being deprived of it."