The Bluffton news. [volume], April 10, 1941, Image 1

About The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current

Image provided by: Ohio History Connection, Columbus, OH

                
rhe Advertising Medium for
Bluffton Trade Territory
______________ A
VOLUME NO. LXV
START RESIDENCE
BUILDING PROGRAM
SEE BUSY SEASON
Excavation is Begun for Second
New House in Bluffton
This Spring
Prospects are that Volume This
Year May Equal Record
Figure of 1940
Residential building in Bluffton
which has been tending sharply up
ward for the past two years bids fair
to continue at the same pace during
the present year, according to spring
construction activities which are get
ting under way with the arrival of
favorable weather.
The first of the w’eek found Rev. E.
G. Steiner breaking ground for a new
residence property near the end of
South Jackson street on the lot which
he purchased from Mrs. Moses Stein
er last year.
This is the second residence under
construction for Bluffton’s 1941 build
ing program, the other being that of
Rev. Levi Mellinger who is building
at the rear of Mrs. Alma Bixel’s lot,
Suoth Main street on a site which he
recently purchased.
Building Starts Early
Building this spring is starting
earlier than for the past two years
when the peak of construction activ
ity was reached in the fall and ex
tending into the winter season.
One reason for the early opening of
residence construction this year may
be due to the fact that prospective
house aiders want to get wcli un
der way before work starts on the
large addition to the generating plant
of the Central Ohio Light & Power
company which is scheduled for a lit
tle later in the season.
Contractors generally are expect
ing a busy season until next wintei
and a number of new residence pro
jects are expected to be announced
within the next few weeks.
May Equal Peak Year
The number of new residences to be
constructed may reach last year’s
record figure of fourteen, the largest
number of dwellings to be built here
in any one year. Although this num
ber established a record, it is pointed
out that it surpassed by only one, the
1939 construction total of thirteen
new hemes.
The home-building program, now
going into its third year ist'ne reaction
to Bluffton chronic housing shortage.
A survey conducted by the Bluffton
News the first of the week disclosed
that empty houses here are practic
ally non-existent.
Supplementing the building pro
gram are several remodeling projects
now under way by which residences
are being made into apartment dwell
ings. These are expected to be ready
for occupancy by arly summer.
Farewell Service For
Rev. Kliewer Sunday
Farewell services for the Rev. P.
A. Kliewer, pastor of the Ebenezer
Mennonite church since 1929, will be
held at the church Sunday. His
final sermon will be given Easter
morning to be followed by a basket
dinner at noon with the farewell mes
sage to be given in the afternoon.
Rev. and Mrs. Kliewer will leave
Bluffton on Monday to accept a call
to the pastorate of the Grace Men
nonite church in Albany, Oregon.
Albany is only 28 miles from Dallas,
Oregon, the former home of both
Rev. and Mrs. Kliewer and is 18
miles from Pratum, Oregon, where
Rev. D. J. Unruh, former Pandora
pastor, is located.
Rev. A. C. Schultz, professor of
Biblical literature at Bluffton college,
will take up the pastoral duties of
the Ebenezer church starting Sunday
April 20. Rev. and Mrs. Schultz
will occupy the Ebenezer parsonage
located on Grive street.
Enroute to the west coast, Rev.
and Mrs. Kliewer will visit their
children at various points. From
Bluffton they will go to Barbourville,
Ky., to visit his daughter, Mrs. Ru
dolph Larson. The next stops will be
at Wheaton, Ill., to see a son, Paul
and at Elgin, Ill., to visit another
daughter, Mrs. Calvin Kielsmeier.
In Joliet, Montana, Rev. and Mrs.
Kliewer will visit Rev. William Tem
plin and conduct a series of meet
ings.
Rev. Kliewer came to Bluffton
from the Mennonite church at Mon
roe, Washington in 1919 and has
served the local church continuously
since that time.
LIBRARY CLOSED
The Bluffton public library will be
closed on Good Friday, it was an
nounced this week by Miss Ocie An
derson, librarian.
BLUFFTON NEWS 'T' L-J DT
No Easter Tulips
Or Hyacinths This
Year Due To War
tJYACINTHS and tulips, tra
ditionally associated with
Easter’s floral parade, will be
missing from the scene this year
because of the European war.
Germany’s occupation of Hol
land has cut off exportation of
hyacinth and tulip bulbs com
prising the principal source of
the American supply.
SEASON OF EASTER
IS AT HAND WITH
VARIED ACTIVITIES
Sunrise Meeting to Mark Be
ginning of Day of Special
Services Sunday
Good Friday Afternoon and
Evening Services Egg
Hunt on Saturday
Easter—an outstanding event on
the church calendar, traditional har
binger of spring and an important
milestone in mercantile circles—will
be observed in Bluffton next Sun
day.
Preparations for the occasion are
seen in pre-Easter activities which
are absorbing the interest of the
town and community this week. Spe
cial programs rin churches, new
Easter wardrobes and the perennial
interest in home gardens all are ap
parent.
Union Good Friday Service
Union Good Friday services will
be held at the First Presbyterian
church from 1 to 3 p. m., with pas
tors from the various Bluffton
churches speaking at the seven 15
minute programs.
An Easter Egg hunt at Harmon
field Saturday afternoon will be one
of the high spots of the year for
Bluffton kiddies. All children are in
vited to take part in the frolic, di
rected by the Women’s Auxiliary of
the Bluffton American Legion post.
Sunrise Service
Easter will be ushered in with a
sunrise service sponsored by the
Bluffton Young People’s Federation,
at the First Mennonite church at
6:30 a. m. Prof. H. W. Berky will
be the speaker.
Also on the Easter program of the
Young People’s Federation is a Good
Friday Candlelight service at 7:30
p. m. Friday in the Presbyterian
church.
A one-day vacation will be enjoyed
by pupils in the Bluffton public
schools, with classes dismissed all
day Friday. Bluffton college is
closed for the week for spring vaca
tion.
Lions To Hold White
Elephant Sale May 10
A white elephant sale will be held
by the Lions club at the vacant lot
adjoining the Stratton building on
Saturday afternoon, May 10.
A plan similar to the one in which
the Lions raised funds for the pur
chase of materials for the swimming
floats at the Buckeye lake several
years ago, will be used.
The funds from the sale this year
will be used for the Lions Commun
ity Betterment fund. This fund is
used to assist in the financing of the
various community service projects
of the club in the community.
A systematic canvas of the busi
ness houses and residences of the
town will be made by members of
the club to secure items for the sale.
Edgar Chamberlain is head of the
committee in charge of the sale.
Sunrise Service Is
Planned On Easter
Easter sunrise services sponsored
by the Bluffton Young People’s Fed
eration will be held at 6:30 a. m.
Sunday in the First Mennonite
church.
Prof. II. W. Berky, of the Bluffton
college faculty, will be the speaker
at the event. All young persons of
the Bluffton community are urged to
attend.
A Good Friday candlelight service
also will be held by the Young Peo
les’ Federation, at 7:30 p. m. Fri
day in the Presbyterian church.
“The Tragedy That Opened the
Tomb” is the theme of the service.
Special music also will be presented.
Births
The following birth at the Bluff
ton hospital:
Mr. and Mrs. Cloyce Hauenstein,
Ada, a girl, Thursday.
JL JL JL JLJ j/ JL JL JL
NEWSPAPER DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF BLUFFTON AND VICINITY
BLUFFTON, O
HARRY BOGART IS
APPOINTED RURAL
ROUTE 2 CARRIER
Will Give Up Job As Postal
Clerk To Assume New
Duties Monday
Other Appointments Expected
To Be Announced Shortly
By Postmaster
Harry Bogart, clerk in the local
post office since 1937, was named
mail carrier on Bluffton Rural
Route No. 2, the first of the week.
Announcement of the appointment
was made by Postmaster Ed R.
Reichenbach from a list certified by
the federal civil service commission.
Bogart will assume his duties on
the mail route next Monday morn
ing, relieving Ralph Patterson, sub
stitute carrier, who had filled the
position since last fall when Ross
Bogart retired.
Bogart’s appointment is the sec
ond to be made in the last two
weeks, Woodrow Little previously
having been named carrier for Route
No. 1.
Four Other Appointments
Four other appointments remain
to be made at the post office this
spring. These comprise three new
posts including janitor, assistant
janitor and charman and an addi
tional post office clerk.
In addition, a new clerk also will
be named to fill the place left va
cant by Bogart’s transfer to the
rural route.
Appointments to the positions will
be made by Postmaster Reichenbach
from lists of eligible candidates fur
nished by the civil service commis
sion. Announcements will be made
as soon as routine requirements
have been met.
Union Good Friday
Service In Afternoon
Union CkftflT Friday services will be
held in the First Presbyterian church
from 1:00 to 3:00 p. m. this Friday,
with the program consisting of seven
15-minute sessions.
Theme of the service will be on
Christ’s “Seven Last Words on the
Cross”.
Pastors in charge of the seven in
dividual services will be Revs. Chas.
M. Armentrout, Emil Burrichter, Eli
Steiner, P. A. Kliewer, J. A. Weed,
Grover T. Soldner and H. T. Unruh,
speaking in the order named.
Special music will be presented,
with Miss Esther Niswander as
choir leader. Those attending may
enter or leave as they desire since
each session will be presented as a
separate service.
Lenten Cantata At
Ebenezer Church
Choirs of the Ebenezer and First
Mennonite churches will present “The
Story of the Cross”, a Lenten can
tata, at 7:45 p. m. Good Friday
evening in the Ebenezer church.
Francis Niswander will sing the
role of Pilate and Clayton Bucher
the part of Jesus.
Other featured soloists include
Mabel Lora, soprono Esther Lugin
buhl, soprono MabeL Amstutz, alto
Vera Amstutz, alto and Geraldine
Grismore, accompanist. Prof. Otto
Holtkamp, of Bluffton college, is di
recting the production.
A7. E. Byers To Talk
To Lima Club Here
N. E. Byers, former dean of
Bluffton college, will be the speaker
at a meeting of the Lima Torch club
to be held at the Walnut Grill in
Bluffton this Wednesday night at
6:30 o’clock.
Byers will speak on the subject,
“A Just and Permanent Peace”.
Bluffton members of the Lima club
in addition to Byers are Dr. C. H.
Smith, Dr. L. L. Ramseyer and Dr.
J. S Schultz, all of Bluffton college.
Jhe Torch club is a service organi
zation composed largely of Lima
business and professional men.
State Athletic Head
Will Address Lions
H. R. Townsend, state athletic di
rector for the secondary schools of
the state of Ohio, will be the speaker
at the meeting of the Lions club to
be held at the high school cafeteria
Tuesday night at 6:15 o’clock.
Also attending the meeting will
be the high school athletic officials
and members of school teams, it was
announced by P. W. Stauffer, presi
dent of the Lions club.
I
HO, THURSDAY^ APRIL 10, 1911____________
Bluffton youngsters will scatter in
the wake of the Easter Rabbit at
Harmon field Saturday afternoon,
when they participate in the annual
Easter Egg hunt sponsored by the
Women’s Auxiliary of the Bluffton
American Legion post.
Should weather prove unfavorable,
the egg hunt and its associated con
tests will be held in the Legion hall.
Starting time of the event will be
2 p. m.
Those in charge of arrangements
estimate that more than 100 dozen
gaily colored Easter eggs will be
used in setting the stage for the
annual egg hunt.
.--------
Contracts for 100 Acres of To
matoes Being Let to Farm
ers of This Area
Planting Done by a Mechanical
Planter Displacing Hand
Labor
First step in making the Bluffton
and Pandora farming area a produc
tion center for tomato growing will
be the planting the latter part of
next month of 270,000 tomato plants
to provide tomatoes for the Pandora
Cannery to be opened this summer.
Contracts for 100 acres of toma
toes will be let to farmers in the
area in order to provide sufficient
tomatoes necessary to pack 25,000
cases. The firm will pay a flat rate
of $10 a ton for tomatoes delivered
to the plant.
Average Yield
With the average yield estimated
from 8 to 12 tons per acre the new
farm produce outlet has considerable
possibilities in providing an attract
ive income source for farmers.
The tomato plants ire grown from
seed by a largtyg^er in Georgia
and will be about 8 inches high when
planted here. The seed is drilled in
the ground, somewhat similar to the
drilling of wheat.
The Georgia grower has about 700
acres devoted to raising tomato
plants. They are shipped north in
crates, making the trip in about 18
hours. Upon arrival here they will
be planted immediately making them
transplanted from Georgia soil to the
Bluffton soil in about 24 hours.
Easter Egg Hunt For Kiddies At
Hannon Field Saturday Afternoon
Area Fanners To Plant 270,000 Tomato
Plants In Anticipation Of New- Income
Machine Planting
No longer is transplanting done by
hand as was the case until recently.
The job is now done by a mechanical
transplanter drawn by a tractor or
horses. Three men are required for
the planting—one to drive the plant
er and two to place the plants.
The mechanical planter digs the
hole and puts in some water. The
two men with the planter place the
plants. The plants are placed about
four feet apart to give them ample
room for spreading and for root de
velopment. If they are planted
closer together both the quantity and
quality of the yield are decreased.
2,700 Plants
to the
Acre
About 2,700 plants are required
for an acre of tomato growing and
with the 100 acres being contracted
for in this area a total of 270,000
plants will be required. The plants
will begin producing about the mid
dle of August and will continue until
late September, the same period of
operation for the cannery.
Machinery for the new industry is
being purchased and will be installed
during the month of May in the
building being fitted for that pur
pose. The building, now owned by
Hiram Schutz of Pandora has been
obtained under terms of a 10 year
lease.
The building was used as a can
ning factory about 35 years ago
when a Pandora company did a large
business in that field.
The concern will be operated by
B. H. Macke of Wapakoneta, who
has been in the canning business for
about 35 years. About 50 people
will be employed during the canning
season.
Mrs. Diller Named
To Health Office
Mrs. Waldo E. Diller, of Bluffton,
was named vice-president of the Al
len County Tuberculosis and Health
association at the annual meeting of
the group last Wednesday night, in
Lima.
Dr. Hirschel Litherland, Allen
county superintendent of schools,
heads the association as president,
and among the members of the board
of directors are Mrs. Calvin Early,
of Lafayette, and Wendell Crider, of
Beaverdam.
Participation in the afternoon fro
lic will be limited to children up to
and including the sixth grade. Prizes
will be awarded to winners in the
special contests.
Legion and Auxiliary members will
provide most of the eggs, but the
cooperation of other residents of the
town and community also is asked.
Colored eggs may be left at Fett’s
hardware store not later than 1
p. m. on the day of the event. Each
Legion and Auxiliary member is to
provide two dozen colored eggs.
Bluffton Boy Scouts will assist in
conducting the hunt again this year,
under the direction of Scoutmaster
Karl Gable.
Real Estate Deals
Walter Stratton has purchased the
Donivan Steiner property on Har
mon road occupied by Wilford Stein
er. Deal handled by H. W. Althaus.
The Frank Zuercher farm of 102
acres south of Bluffton has been
purchased by Ralph Williams, who
will ocmupy the place. Zuercher has
purchased the Otto Klay property on
Mound street now occupied by Fred
Bronson and expects to move to
town this spring.
Fred C. Badertscher has purchased
the S. F. Nonnamaker property on
Spring street.
In New Locations
Al Lownsbury and family have
moved from the Edgar Chamberlain
property on Cherry street, the form
er Mrs. Jean Murray residence, to
the Hamilton Berry property.
Chamberlain is remodeling this
week the apartment vacated by
Lownsbury into two apartments one
of which will be occupied by Mr.
and Mrs. Byron Anderson.
Harry Lugibihl moved Tuesday
from the Gottlieb Frankhauser farm
to the David Reichenbach property,
formerly the Dillman residence, on
North Main street.
Fishing Contest To
Be Held At Quarry
Cash prizes will be offered by the
Bluffton Sportsmen’s club in a fish
ing contest to be held at the National
quarry lasting until Dec. 1. Only
members of the club will be eligible.
A prize of $4.00 will be offered for
the heaviest bass, blue gill and chan
nel cat caught at the quarry. Only
weight and not length will be consid
ered in determining the awards, it
was stated by the officials of the club.
Edgar Root and Leon Hanuenstein
will weigh all fish entered in the con
test. Only fish caught in the quarry
at locations other than the north side
will be considered in the contest.
Spring Weather
Finally Is Here
Spring weather made a belated ar
rival in Bluffton this week nearly
two and one-half weeks after its
official debut on March 21.
Warmer weather and bright sun
light on Monday and Tuesday set
the stage for the first touch of
spring fever top coats were left at
home and amateur gardeners were
hard at work.
A maximum temperature of 71
Tuesday afternoon was the high
mark for the year, and altho the
weather in the evening turned
slightly colder the warm spell is ex
pected to continue.
With the long-awaited break in
the weather, Bluffton area farmers
are busy in their fields from day
light until dark, and residents of the
town are at work in gardens and on
their lawns.
Motion Picture At
Masonic Meeting
“The Army on Wheels”, a motion
picture, will be shown at the regu
lar meeting of the Bluffton Masonic
lodge next Monday night in the lodge
rooms. Charles Aukerman, master,
announced that the meeting will be
open to Masons only.
Bluffton Boys Is
M. P. At Camp Knox
Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Stonchill
and daughters Carolyn and JoAnn
and son Elmer and Joe Swank visit
ed John Stonehill and Neil Holden
at Ft. Knox, Ky., over the week-end
of March 29. John who volunteered
for army service last winter is one
of the camp’s military police.
Traffic Over Route 103 Being
Detoured to Vance, Cherry
And Mound Streets
W^b BLUFFTON
Motorists Here Pay
Bill Of $16,000 For
Auto License Tags
TJU’FFTON area motorists
have spent more than
$16,000 for new 1941 auto tags,
Clayton Bixel, local registrar,
said Monday. Approximately
1200 sets of license plates were
distributed here for passenger
cars, trucks and trailers during
the latter part of March and the
first week in April.
JEFFERSON BRIDGE
IS BEING REPAIRED
BY HIGHWAY CREW
New Steel Stringers and Wood
en Floor Being Built Into
New Structure
Work on the Jefferson street
bridge leading into Route 103 is be
ing completed this week, it was an
nounced by Mayor W. A. Howe.
The tools for doing the job have
been placed near the bridge for
several weeks, the repair crew wait
ing for warmer weather in order to
begin construction.
The bridge was a center of con
troversy for some time, the mayor
threatening to close it to traffic un
less action or assurance of action
were taken in the near future.
When the matter was finally set
tled that the bridge repair responsi
bility rested with the state, plans
were made for the repairs.
Repairs will consist of placement
of the steel “stringers” for the sup
port of the floor of the bridge, a
new wooden floor and painting of the
structure.
Traffic on Route 103 is temporarily
being detoured around the bridge by
the way of Vance, Cherry and
Mound streets,
Students Qualify
For State Contest
Qualifying 34 students for compe
tition at the state musical contest on
May 2, Bluffton High school walked
off with a lion’s share of the honors
at the annual district solo and en
semble contest held at Ohio Northern
university at Ada, Friday.
More than 400 musicians from 60
high schools in northwestern Ohio
were present to compete for the
honor to represent their schools at
the state meet.
All musicians receiving the rating
of superior and excellent qualified
for the state competition. Superior
is the highest rating and excellent
is the next high rating given by the
judges.
The following musicians qualified:
Solos—Roger Howe, tenor, super
ior Wilhelm Amstutz, bass, excel
lent Betty Holtkamp, mezzo-soprano,
superior Alice Oyer, soprano, su
perior.
Boys ensemble LeRoy Lugibihl,
Norman Beidler, Wilhelm Amstutz,
Roger Howe, excellent.
Girls ensemble—Marcene Stonehill,
Ruth Hankish, Mary E. Stearns,
Marjean Todd, Betty Holtkamp, Hild
red Eversole, excellent.
Mixel ensemble—Alice Oyer, Dor
othy Anderson, Betty Steinman, Hel
en Soldner, James Gratz, Robert
Cooney, Harold Augsburger, Gerald
Augsburger, excellent.
Violin solo—Neil Neuenschwander,
excellent.
Cello solo—Betty Steinman, super
ior.
Xylophone solo Barbara Jean
Triplett, superior.
String quartet—Alice Jean Bixel,
Neil Neuenschwander, Jane Howe,
Mary Margaret Basinger, excellent.
Flute quartet Geneva Hankish,
Beverly Biery, Harriet Burkholder,
Raymond Schumacher, excellent.
Father Of Bluffton
Man Dies In Crash
William Krichbaum, 69-year-old
Arlington resident, father of Carl
Krichbaum, of Bluffton, was injured
fatally at 12:30 a. m. Sunday when
his automobile struck a bridge abut
ment three miles south of Findlay
on Route 31.
Krichbaum was southbound, appar
ently enroute to his home in Arling
ton where he lived alone, and it is
thought that he may have fallen
I asleep at the wheel.
His son, Carl, is employed at
Gaiffe’s filling station. Other sur
vivors include a daughter, Mrs. Clara
Burkett, of Michigan a sister, Mrs.
Adam Von Stein, of Jenera and a
brother, Philip Krichbaum, of Carey.
A Good Place to Live an
Good Place to Trade
NUMBER 50
MARKET FOR FARM
PRODUCTS SWINGS
TO HIGHER LEVELS
Quotations for Hogs and Dairy
Products Lead Sharp Ad
vance First of Week
Egg Prices Also Rise in Face
Of Large Production from
Flocks of Area
Prospects of better prices for farm
products appeared the brightest in
recent years as farmers this week
took advantage of favorable weather
to get under way with spring tillage.
Spurred on by the impetus of war
demand, livestock and dairy products
especially moved up briskly. Hogs,
leading the advance were up some 40
cents over last week’s figures with a
top price of $8.10 on the market here
Wednesday- morning.
Hog quotations in the big central
markets gyrated wildly the first of
the week, chalking up an advance of
fifty’ cents per hundred pounds on
Monday and losing half of the gain
Tuesday. Prices were steady at the
local yards Monday and Tuesday at
$8.10.
With a jump of five cents a doz
en over retail egg prices of last
year, it is going to cost more
money to have Easter eggs this
season. Top quality eggs were
quoted at 23 to 24 cents per doz
en at local groceries Wednesday
morning.
Soybeans, also spurred by demand
of defense industries for its oil con
tent crossed the dollar mark for the
first time in recent months and were
quoted at $1.03 Wednesday morning.
Smaller Pig Crop
According to reports of the bureau
of agricultural economics, the crop
of pigs this spring will be smaller
than last year. This together w-ith
increased pork shipments to Britain
under provisions of the lease-lend bill
is expected to cause even higher
prices.
The beef and lamb supply situation
is more favorable. The bureau re
ports that surveys indicate that more
cattle will be marketed this year than
last. It says, however, that prices can
be expected to average higher on ac
count of improved consumer demand.
More For Eggs
Farmers are receiving four to six
cents more for eggs this year as com
pared to last y ear, w-ith prices at 21c
for w-hite and 19c for brow-n eggs
quoted by local buyers.
With butterfat at 36c an increase
of three cents in the last two weeks
has been reported at local markets.
Last year at this time farmers were
receiving 32c per pound for butter
fat. Consumers are paying 40c per
pound for butter on the retail -market,
it was reported Wednesday morning.
The spring season is usually the
time of heavy egg production for
poultry farms and w-ith the higher
prices being paid this year, area
farmers are in line for some good
profits in this particular line.
Fishing Prohibited At
Water Works Quarry
Fishing in the quarry at the
municipal w-ater works will be pro
hibited this year, it was announced
Monday night at a meeting of the
Bluffton Community Sportsmen’s
club.
The quarry was stocked last year
with crappies and other breeder
game fish as a part of the district
fish conservation program, and in the
future it is expected to be one of the
best fishing spots in this area.
Plans for rearing approximately
100 four-weeks-old pheasant chicks
as a summer program of the sports
man’s organization are nearing com
pletion, it was announced at the
meeting.
One of 10 pheasant pens has been
completed in the Bluffton High school
w-oodw-orking shop, directed by A. L.
Daymen. Pens will be 10 by four by
tw-o feet in size, and will be covered
with w-ire mesh.
Announcement w-as made at the
meeting that the local club now is
affiliated with the League of Ohio
Sportsmen.
Slight Damage In
John Marquart Fire
An evening fire in the Orange
township residence of John Mar
quart last Sunday evening resulted
in a loss of $13.
The blaze was discovered soon
after one of the family struck a
match in a closet. A call was made
for the Bluffton fire department, but
the alarm was cancelled after the
family succeeded in extinguishing
the fire.