May 1956

$25,000.00 Home Improvement Contest for 1956

THIS CONTEST covers any improvement to your home and surrounding property. And you have 128 chances to win in the four divisions-- Exteriors, Interiors, Additions, and Kitchen-Utility areas-- explained in detail further on. You are officially entered in the contest when we receive a Preliminary Entry Form from you.

What to look for in draperies

Ready-mades make it easy to buy and hang draperies all on the same day. They are usually the least expensive. You put on the hooks, join several pairs to cover large glass areas, perhaps adjust the hems, then hang them.

These FOODS are NEWS!

Quick 7-minute-type frosting mix is a newcomer. It makes a soft, glossy, fluffy white frosting. Keeps well, too. Simple to fix-- just add boiling water and beat in warm bowl with an electric mixer, or beat with rotary beater over hot water. Takes about 5 to 7 minutes' beating. The 7½-ounce package will frost two 8-or 9-inch layers, a sheet cake, or 24 cupcakes.

Who wants to teach Sunday school?

I came out of the dim, pleasant-smelling general store and post office in our little town one day. There on the front step, in the morning sunshine, stood our minister. "I want to talk to you," he said.

How to get the best "deal" on a new car

If you've been bitten by the new-car "bug," you are going to buy a new automobile. Even if you need a new car like a giraffe needs stilts, you're going to buy one. Somewhere, somehow, you'll find the money. If you still owe a balance on your present car, you or your dealer will find a way around that obstacle.

Yon and your MEMORY

Here are table wardrobes to fit every budget

Have you heard? Latest Garden News

Kill clover in lawns? Old-time gardeners would have shuddered at the idea. To a man, they would have insisted that a good lawn simply had to have clover. It was the only dependable plant which stayed green when bluegrass went dormant in summer.

How to to go about improving your kitchen

These folks did it themselves ... on a $550 budget

Picture-pretty in six weeks!

P-h-h-f-t We were in the dark when we saw the light

"Fire rotisseries!" I signaled Doris from the front door... at least, that's where it all began. I had scheduled the evening's activities with the stop-watch precision of a time-motion expert.

Virginia-For history, or just for fun

Vacation time again? Perhaps not quite, but at least it's high time for getting out the road maps and calendar and exploring all the possibilities. After all, the fun of anticipating what's ahead is second only to the trip itself, and a little time spent with guidebooks and maps will often pay handsome dividends in discovering new and interesting places to visit.

Today's house can really take it!

This, month's Five Star home (it's number 2605) presents a total plan for living, one that envisions the full family cycle-- from early years through retirement.

Let s take a look at 1956 carpets

What's the right carpet or rug for your home? Wall-to-wall carpet in a solid color, simple design, or texture gives a feeling of spaciousness to small rooms. Large rooms are best place for patterns, tone-on-tones, or carved effects.

When you remodel an old house Little changes make a big difference

SMART COOK!

Strawberry pie

Dissolve gelatin in hot water. Add cold water; stir. Cut ice cream in 6 chunks; add to gelatin mixture. Stir till ice cream melts. Chill until mixture begins to thicken and mound when spooned (20 to 30 minutes). Gently fold in strawberries. Pour into cooled Coconut Shell. Chill till firm, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Bake brioche, light as a feather!

Look what's new for 1956 kitchens

Pick-up salads, garden fresh

How to recognize carpet quality

My strange world of Cerebral palsy

Our family doctor pronounced me dead when I was born. As he turned to save my mother he laid my breathless body on the floor. My grandmother grabbed me up and began bathing me in warm water. With the grace of God, I gave out a yell.

Give us five weeks

PETER PUTTER'S Quick Quiz

A new and simple way to slipcover

Nobody reads the directions

Not long ago, the manager in charge of the Brazilian office for a company manufacturing adhesive bandages was happy to note that some of his products had found their way into the deepest jungles of Mato Grosso, introduced there by missionaries. Sales in that remote region failed to boom, however, because the primitive Indians in the territory found them useless --they wouldn't stick. Investigation finally disclosed the reason; unable to read the directions which accompanied each package of bandages, the natives had not gotten around to peeling off the protective crinoline.

"We did it ourselves"

We made a small house do a big job

By any standards, the Fenton family of Great Falls, Montana (that's us) lives in a small house-- 1,150 square feet. When we moved in 5 years ago, it had two bedrooms and just under 800 square feet.

Small-room problem? It's how you use the space that counts

Young ideas for older houses: How to cover a radiator

Be a smart decorator, and you can say--Good-bye to problem windows

Don't deny your child discipline

Mrs. Jones was chatting with visitors when 8-year-old Tommy swept into the living room. He was at the moment a jet fighter in hot pursuit of the enemy, with sound effects of engine and guns going at full blast.

This is the way we built our house!

How do you tell about a house you built with your own hands? It's like talking about yourself. My husband, George, is an architect, so we had a head start over most young couples

Bathing your baby should be fun

How they came to build this house

In St. Louis, there are all kinds of three-bedroom houses ready to be bought. This is the story of young people who didn't go about it this easy way-- whose lively personalities demanded something more than the usual house in the usual setting.

Kitchen built-ins for the handyman

A new house-and it's 50 years old!

How to choose and use ... Files and rasps

Wherever you live, you can have a... Cooler house this summer

The magic is heatproofing. And it means not only that your home can be degrees cooler this summer, but that the ideal in all-year comfort, air conditioning, may now be within your budget-- its cost reduced by half or more. Further, this work is an investment which will bring you regular divi-dends year in, year out.

Workshop in the walls

Most workshops rate as afterthoughts in planning a new house. A corner of the basement here, a wall of the garage there, seldom first-floor space-- space that's really important.

Personal help in home building, remodeling, and decorating

When you're looking for ways to make your home more comfortable and attractive, look for this seal. It identifies the Better Homes & Gardens Home Planning Center, where you can get personal counsel on your home-planning problems.

Decorative solutions for The small-room problem

Built-ins with hidden extras

CANCER: 20 million can be helped

How soon will cancer be conquered? No one knows, for sure. A close look at the front lines of research shows that all across the United States-- in laboratories cluttered with chemicals and caged mice, in operating rooms and hospital wards, in the strangely potent silence surrounding atomic reactors-- scientists and doctors are carving out new victories over cancer.

How to build a hi-fi speaker cabinet

If you're joining hi-fi's fast-swelling ranks, you should know the role a scientific speaker enclosure plays in presenting the best sound from record-player or other source.

Driving lessons are worthwhile

If you, your mate, or your teen-age youngster wants to learn to drive a car, you may be considering a driver-training school. And lessons from a professional could be your best possible move, if discretion is used in the choice of a school and the course is followed all the way through.

It's planned for a bigger future

When you build a home, you don't have to build it all at once. This may be the only sure way to get the home you want-- instead of just the one you can afford at the time.

Article

How to give a small room style

How to work with hardboard

Once you get to know hardboard, you'll wonder why you waited so long to use it. Because in hardboard --a brown, sometimes grayish material that's usually glassy-smooth on one side-- you'll find talents that make for a marvelous, all-around workshop performer.

New book for your baby's records

Article

You can't afford not to mulch

You suit yourself with this garden plan

The diary of a Plain dirt gardener

May 1 "Thank you kindly; thank you kindly," some bird over in the bushes was singing as I went forth to get the morning paper.

Now's the time to...

Central and East Trees and shrubs: Deep-feed shade trees, and water if spring is dry to carry food to the roots... Feed your roses with a new long-lasting rose food or a standard rose food if not done earlier. ...Keep a thin film of pesticide on plant surfaces to keep aphids and blackspot under control.

Annuals give bargains in bloom

Tomatoes, anyone? Here's how to grow 'em

How to save mowing time

In the bluegrass country, it takes a full 40-hour week to keep the average lawn mowed during one growing season. Farther south, where the grass grows 9 months out of the year instead of 6, mowing takes two weeks and some overtime.

How to go about improving your kitchen

Article

Kitchen ideas references

THE MAN NEXT DOOR

I hear considerable political talk when the neighbors gather in one another's yards these lovely spring evenings. We don't seem too concerned about any one candidate, but each of us does strongly favor any special privilege which we personally enjoy.