October 1959

ACTION IN EDUCATION

IN RECOGNITION of community action to improve education, Better Homes & Gardens, in co-operation with the National Education Association and the National School Boards Association, will present special ACTION IN EDUCATION awards.

ACTION in EDUCATION starts with YOU!

EDITOR'S NOTE: The first faint signal of the Soviet Sputnik relayed to earth and transmitted to Americans by radio was a menacing "beep-beep-beep." Maybe it sounded more like a Russian nursery rhyme than an ominous challenge to our educational system, but to many thoughtful Americans that echoing, hypnotic "beep-beep-beep" rhymed with "sleep-sleep-sleep."

Put that half story to full-time use

a complete guide to modern vinyl floors

Here's where you can find out all about vinyl floors. They're one of the most important decorating developments ever-- and one of the biggest contributions ever made to easy home care. This Guide provides all the facts you need to make an intelligent selection of the vinyl floors best for you. Keep it handy for the day when you build or remodel-- or just want a new floor.

OCTOBER GARDEN REMINDERS

Plant bulbs: Set bulbs in beds and borders as soon as available. Include narcissus, hyacinth, and crocus. In mild southern areas, condition tulip bulbs in the refrigerator eight weeks before planting.

Stop these weeds now!

This kitchen is the heart of the home

This kitchen welcomes you indoors or out

You can enjoy the conveniences of a modern, indoor-outdoor family kitchen even if you live in an old home. Remodeling is your answer. No, it may not be inexpensive. But better financing is now widely available, and if your home is in generally good condition and well located, the cost of remodeling compares favorably with buying or building a new home. Proof is this redo of the Herrick Allens of Tacoma, Washington.

Four children pressured this kitchen addition

Four active children, two parents, and a tiny house can be a strain on family harmony-- especially if there's practically no living or play space. Mr. and Mrs. O. B. Jones, Jr., Carmel, California, hit upon this solution: a kitchen-dining room addition. It automatically helped extend the living room space by 119 square feet, provided a kitchen eating area, and opened up the house plan with a more workable arrangement.

America's amazing high country

EACH man has his own symbol for a country he knows. What is a certain place? Perhaps, to you, it is the look of a tree hanging above a creek; to someone else, the sound of waves on a shore; to a third, scent from budding trees in spring. But whatever the symbol, to the person who owns it, this symbol makes real the land or the city or the remembered sea, far more than facts and populations, areas and produce.

Summit meeting of flower arrangers

A TIME to remember, Spring 1959 was eventful for the members of Ikebana International who met in Tokyo to study ikebana at its best. Translated, the group's impressive title means, very simply: flower arrangers from all over the world. It was my good fortune to be in Japan at the time and to visit many famous flower arrangement schools.

How to tell a story

No one is a born storyteller- it is an acquired talent; it must be learned-- and it can be. It has transformed dreary politicians into attractive candidates for office. It has made top comedians of school teachers and violinists. Best of all, it can make you a favorite guest, or a raconteur in your own living room.

Here's the easy way

DEATH rides with the SLEEPYHEAD

A 43-year-old Chicago steelworker recently signed out after the night shift and hurried home where his wife and teen-age daughter were all packed and ready to start on a vacation jaunt to Norfolk, Virginia. Pausing only for a quick shower, he grabbed a snack to eat en route, loaded his eager family beside him, and was on the road by 5 a.m. Thirteen hours and 422 miles later, on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, he was still grinding out distance with fierce determination when nature intervened.

Kitchen counters...

Correction

Get personal help at a Home Planning Center in planning, decorating and furnishing YOUR home

Look for this Better Homes & Gardens "Home Planning Center" seal when you're looking for ideas to help make your home more comfortable and attractive. It identifies leading stores which feature personal counsel on home planning, decorating, and furnishings.

$500 made all these home improvements

Rate your child on these... Physical fitness tests

Are we becoming a nation of "push-button softies"? Yes, according to a study of 4,500 American children. Almost 58 per cent of them did not pass the youth fitness tests shown here.

These five are beating ARTHRITIS

"WE WERE just back from our honeymoon," Marguerite Smith said recently, "when the pains started in my feet, like a constant aching. My feet began to redden and swell."

Weatherstripping

The diary of a Plain dirt gardener

Oct. L Off today on a little business trip to West Virginia. Night found us in Elkins, right in the Highlands of West Virginia-- and lucky to get a place to stay, for the annual Mountain State Forest Festival was beginning.

Smart ways with a small room

Remodeling saved our "hopeless" house

THE MAN NEXT DOOR

People our age got all the worst of the big change that has taken place in Halloween celebrations. As kids we had to get out in the dark and hustle up our own fun; now as parents we have to go out in the dark and hustle up fun for our kids.