William F. Bigelow, a demanding editor who held fast to the beliefs of his Methodist background, guided Good Housekeeping magazine through almost three decades of the early twentieth century. Under his direction the magazine attained phenomenal success, gaining the distinction of being what was probably the single most profitable monthly periodical published during the Depression. It offered an extensive variety of articles and service features, fiction, verse, and high-quality illustrations, achieving popularity with readers in both large cities and small towns.

As a youth Bigelow received a firm grounding in middle-class, Protestant values, which he later advocated in the pages of Good Housekeeping. Born 14 August 1879 on a farm near Milford Center, Ohio, Bigelow was the son of Alpheus Russell and Hattie Parthemore Bigelow. In 1905 he received a bachelor of literature degree from Ohio Wesleyan University, in Delaware, Ohio, a Methodist school to which he remained passionately attached throughout...