In the Home of "Mrs. America," Each Has His Own Responsibility

"Every member of our family feels that the 'home' belongs to us all, and that it is up to all of us to look after it, working together..."

... That is how "Mrs. America," Linwood Findley, is able to run her house with consummate skill without help, save for the services her four young children and her husband provide..

She entered the contest in Florida along with forty-nine other mothers who had found in themselves the competence, the energy, and the charm to qualify them for this distinguished position...

But how was this contest, unique of its kind, conducted?

After these ladies had each won the title in her own state,

each lady proceeded with her husband to Florida to go through the final contest and the choosing of "Mrs. America".. There they spent a full week in press interviews, answering every question put to them — all of it turning on their skill in household matters and the measure of their success in making the members of their families happy... The examination included practical tests in sewing, cooking, ironing, drawing up the household budget, menus, and so on.

At last the panel of judges announced the result... and Linwood Findley won the title of "Mrs. America" in a storm of applause... What, then, are the qualities that made Linwood surpass the others in this field?

In her house in Arlington, Virginia, the household affairs get done with the precision and order of clockwork, because all the members of the family love to work together, hand in hand — so much so that they are expert in every job the house may need, however many and varied, each, naturally, within the range of his ability!

The husband, Harry Findley, an officer in the American air force, agrees with his wife that children should learn the value of money at an early age.. and find pleasure in earning it.. In application of this theory, he pays the two boys, aged 11 and 9, twenty-five cents for every hour of work the father assigns, and the elder of them earns an extra dollar for weeding the neighbors' garden. To encourage them to save and to work with pleasure and willingness, the father doubles every sum the children put by, each on his own — and this year the elder had gathered enough to cover the expenses of the summer scout camp..

As for the two girls, they are still too small to take part in the family's economic system; soon Lynette will begin performing her regular tasks and collecting her wages, with equal regularity..

Apart from these extra jobs for which the children are paid, their father has accustomed them to the necessity of attending to their own affairs and keeping their rooms, their books, and their toys in order; if they run off to play and leave their rooms in a state of chaos, their mother firmly sends them back to restore the rooms to their original order.

Worth mentioning is the close resemblance between the families of the two spouses, Linwood and Harry: each grew up among four brothers and sisters, and both graduated from the same university. The parents hold that the best time for gathering the family together is mealtime, when the television is not allowed to trouble the serenity of the family conversation... And so attached are the children

to the television that the parents have found the one effective punishment — used only in cases of utmost necessity — is to deny them the privilege of sitting before this machine...

"Mrs. America" is a specialist in home economics and in the raising of children; and what most distinguishes her is that organized personality, capable of laying plans in advance — plans that take in the members of her family, so that they find time enough for service, for cooking, and for tending the garden in the best possible way.

(The Editors — What do our readers, men and women, think of a similar project to choose "Mrs. Lebanon"??)