February 1962

HOW TO GET THE JOB DONE

This month our whole Ideas in Action section is filled with page after page of tips and ideas to help you with maintenance jobs and projects around your house. Those tiresome fix-its become a breeze, and major projects get to be fun when you know how to use tools properly.

It's NEWS to me!

Decorative ways with tube lighting

FAVORITE ROSES OF PEOPLE WHO KNOW ROSES

"With my busy schedule, I find early in the morning is the best time to work with my roses. The morning air has a freshness that invigorates me-- and what better way to start off the day than in the garden? Among my favorite roses is the lovely yellow grandiflora, Golden Girl (right), which I have given a choice spot in front of my home.

WHAT MAKES A MAN FEEL AT HOME?

THERE was a time when man-style furnishings were limited to the same old red-leather-and-wormy-chestnut look-- but not any more. The emphasis today is on up-to-date smartness as well as solid comfort.

The story of a father and mother who have solved the most perplexing problem parents can face

When your own children include both gifted and retarded, you learn that honesty is the best Psychology. Forrest and Helen McRae have such a family. Through personal experience with both extremes, as well as two average children in between, they have come to accept ability differences as a fact of life.

Smart planning hard work, and good budgeting add up to a fine house

Tailoring substantial desires to a not-so-substantial budget was as big a problem for John and Maryanne Koch, Cincinnati, as it is for any couple. But their careful analysis of the problem and a willingness to work on the solution led to this extraordinary house. The Kochs selected a hillside lot (cheaper than level lots in the neighborhood) that would let them build a two-story home with one level to live in now-- another to develop later.

HUNTING FISHING ...

Here, a celebrated outdoor writer reveals ten of the sporting vacation spots his wife and sons chose as their favorites. You can take the same trips with your family.

Does it cost MONEY to be distinctive?

Not necessarily-- and here's the proof. Bill Kessler, an architect in Grosse Point, Michigan, designed and built this house for his family on the same tight budget that an ordinary house of the same size would have cost them.

Better Homes and Gardens Home improvement contest offers $30,000 in cash-PLUS

Any improvement that you make to your home during 1962 can be entered as a possible $10,000 grand prize winner. There will be a total of 96 cash prizes, including a $4,100 2nd prize and a $2,100 3rd prize. Also, there will be other prizes in addition to cash, including those listed on the opposite page.

IS YOUR MORTGAGE COSTING YOU TOO MUCH?

The mortgage that was tailored for you two or ten years ago is like a suit of clothes of the same age. It may still fit you today-- and then again it may not. It may be uncomfortably tight in its payments or too short in its amortization period. Or the mortgage may need alterations because your house does. Here's what you can do.

HONOR ROLL of SCHOOLS

ACTION IN EDUCATION is a never-ending task. It must meet the challenges of rapid enrollment-growth, increased school costs, and the nation's need for an ever-higher quality of instruction.

Fool-the-eye decorating with gay wallpapers

Dwarf trees forever!

Bruno Kaufner of San Francisco has grown dozens of dwarf evergreen trees-- some of them for 40 years-- and none are more than a foot tall. Limited food and root-growth space are what dwarf the trees. The materials used to form the rock base are decomposed over the years by substances excreted by the roots. This process creates nutrients on which the roots feed as they probe along, creating pockets and crevices.

STRICTLY A STAG AFFAIR

LOOK AND COOK

SHOPPING BY MAIL with Better Homes & Gardens

The man next door

Our Judy is giving a Groundhog's Day party for some of her friends this year to celebrate whatever happens.