10 Etiquette Tips of 1940

To help children acquire poise and ease of manner at the table, they should be given a reasonable amount of attention. They should be encouraged to join in the general conversation and not rudely interrupted, or how can they learn to listen attentively and politely to others? 

 Hints on Etiquette from 1940

1. Ice cream served à la mode (on pie) is eaten with a fork. 
2. The bride rides to church in the car with her father, not with the bridesmaid or with her husband-to-be. 
3. To help children acquire poise and ease of manner at the table, they should be given a reasonable amount of attention. They should be encouraged to join in the general conversation and not rudely interrupted, or how can they learn to listen attentively and politely to others? 
4. It is the woman's place to proffer her hand to a man if she wishes to shake hands with him. However, if the man is used to shaking hands at meeting, and holds out his hand, she should shake hands with him even if she didn't intend to. 
5. You can train yourself to be a good mixer if you make a habit of always being interested in other people and showing it by your speech and actions.
6. Talk of one's personal problems and woes in public places, and in a tone of voice which easily carries to those within range, is never good taste. 
7. When you have finished your soup, if it is served in a regular soup bowl, wide and shallow, put the spoon in the bowl itself when you have finished. When eating soup out of a bouillon cup, however, put the spoon in the saucer or plate in which the cup stands.
8. It is good manners as well as good morals to suppress any unpleasant thing you may have heard of a person and tell those which are pleasant and to their credit. 
9. It is not considered good manners to smoke while dancing.
10. Ushers at a church wedding should be at the church about an hour before the time set for the ceremony. 

From the “Grab Bag” feature in the Imperial Valley Press, 1940

🍽Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia