We’re going back in time again. (Just found the copyright in the back of the booklet) It’s 1940 and Tintex has unleashed Helpful Harry on harried housewives….

My mom and dad are in the front. Mom's sisters with their husbands and Gramma and Grampa Dinwoodie complete the photo.
“Push tush,” you say, “hanging pictures is a pipe.” But listen, you hunks of honey, there’s a right and a wrong way to keep those pictures from going whacky at the slightest touch. Give a tilted picture a bit of time and you’ll go nuts. Anyway, swipe a hunk of Dad’s fish line (has wire ** a mile). Now, hang Aunt Lizzie up and turn her around — all the way so the line makes a little loop at the hook — from then on no nervous breakdowns.
Hunk of honey? I write romances and wouldn’t there…
Also, I took out a word that had to be a colloquialism of that day but means something entirely different now. I’d never seen or heard the word, but it’s on-line in the Urban Dictionary and in this day and age, it’s not cute or nice or anything a corporation would use in an piece of advertising.
How times change!
The photo in this post is from the 1950’s or perhaps early 60’s. The Tintex booklet featuring Helpful Harry was given to my Aunt Yvonne (second row on the far right, white blouse) from my Aunt Alsetia (second row middle). Just love this photo. Daddy has hair!!!
Love it!! Jan
Me, too! Little did they all know when this photo was taken it would be used on a blog on something called the internet….
One of the things I enjoy about older books and movies is seeing how language has changed- sometimes it’s enough to make you blush! In The Secret Garden they use ‘gay’ and ‘queer’ all the time- mean happy and odd, but reading it out loud to kids- caused a commotion.
You are so right, Alica! Not even Christmas carols are immune to the way words morph to mean something different – ‘Don we now our gay apparel…’