Heloise Bowles Cruse Biography

Heloise Bowles Cruse was the woman who started the popular newspaper column, Hints From Heloise, a feature in nationwide syndication since 1961.

She began the column as Readers’ Exchange in February of 1959 in The Honolulu Advertiser. Readers submitted practical tips on a wide variety of subjects, and Heloise added comments on their effectiveness.

Hints From Heloise went national in 1961 and for many years Bowles Cruse ran it out of her San Antonio home, testing household tips in her own kitchen. She released the first of several bestselling books in 1963.

The column continues to this day, one of the original “life hack” sources for household tips — everything from getting wine stains out of silk to opening stubborn pickle jars.

Heloise wrote the column up until her death in 1977. Since then it has been written by her daughter, “Heloise II” — whose real name is Ponce Cruse.

Ponce began working for her mother on a temporary basis after graduating in 1974 from Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State University). He mother was in declining health and died in 1977.

Ponce decided to continue with the column, and has gone onto have a Heloise career that lasted longer than her mother’s.