The Bluffton news. [volume], May 28, 1942, Image 1

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BUY
UNITED
STATES
DEFENSE
IBONDS
AND
STAMPS
SPECIAL MORNING
EXERCISES HERE
ON MEMORIAL DAY
American Legion Plans Include
Decoration of Soldiers’
Graves in Area
Parade Will be Followed by
Services in Cemetery and
At High School
Decoration of the graves of war
veterans and exercises at Maple
Grove cemetery followed by a pro
gram in the high school auditorium
will feature Bluffton’s observance of
Memorial day, Saturday morning.
The day’s program will open with
a parade to the cemetery with mem
bers of Bluffton Legion post, the
Lions club, Bluffton high school
band, Spanish war veterans, Legion
Auxiliary, fraternal orders, mothers
of boys in the service, and Boy
Scout troops in the line of march.
The parade is scheduled to start
at 9:30 a. m. with the various units
assembling at the American Legion
hall. Ritualistic services at the
cemetery will be held over the grave
of Albert Bixler at 10 o’clock.
Millen Geiger, commander of
Bluffton Legion post has issued a
special invitation to all mothers who
have sons in service to be present
for the parade and also at the ex
ercises at the cemetery and later in
the high school auditorium.
A number of business estab
lishments in town will be closed
on Memorial Day. There will
be no rural mail deliveries on
Saturday but town deliveries
and window service will be giv
en as usual, it was announced
by Postmaster Ed Reichenbach.
After exercises at the cemetery a
Memorial Day sendee will be held in
the high school auditorium at 10:30
o’clock with Rev. S. M. Davidian,
pastor of the Central Church of
Christ of Lima, delivering the ad
dress on the subject “America’s
Unseen. Gailery.” Special music and
other*Mfeatm*es will be included on
the program.
Another feature of the Memorial
Day observance will be the decora
tion of the graves of Bluffton area’s
soldier dead.
Arrangements for the day’s pro
gram are being made by the Bluff
ton post of the American Legion,
with the assistance of the Legion
Auxiliary. Commander Millen Geig
er is directing the work of the com
mittees in charge.
All of the business establishments
in town will be decorated with flags
and with the country at war it is
strongly urged that all residences in
the town display flags in commem
oration of the men who have served
their country.
High School Alumni
Program On Friday
Climaxing a busy week of com
mencement activity, the Bluffton
High schol alumni reunion will be
held at 6:30 p. m. Friday in the
gymnasium.
Opening the program, Silas Diller,
alumni president, will welcome this
year’s graduates into the alumni or
ganization. James Reichenbach, sen
ior class president, will make the
response.
Twenty-fifth anniversary of the
class of 1917 also will be observed,
with Mrs. H. H. Huser, a member,
speaking briefly. A skit, “Why I
Am A Bachelor” will be staged by
Paul Soldner, Bert Smucker and Dor
othy Beckenbach.
One of the features of this year’s
program will be the reunion of
classes graduated during the super
intendency of B. F. Biery, from 1895
to 1900, inclusive.
Other special features will include
music by the high school boy’s quar
tet, a vocal solo by Herbert Oyer,
and a reading by Bettye Lewis.
W. A. Amstutz will present “Lest
We Forget”, a memorial service for
those who have died in the past
year tribute to graduates in the
armed services of the nation, and a
special memorial to Bluffton High’s
first graduating class, that of 1892,
all of whom now arc deceased.
Following the program dancing
will be enjoyed with Harold Green
amyer and his orchestra, of Piqua,
providing the music.
Library Closed
The Bluffton public library will
be closed on May 30, June 1st, 2nd
and 3rd for cleaning purposes, it
was announced by Miss Ocie Ander
son, librarian.
VOLUME NO. LXVII BLUFFTON, OHIO, THURSDAY, MAY 28, 1942
After a harrowing experience of
14 hours in an open life boat follow
ing the sinking of their vessel by a
Nazi submarine in the Caribbean
Sea, Mr. and Mrs. Leonard E. Cup
pies and baby son are safe here
miraculously escaping death several
times.
Mrs. Cuppies is the former Wau
neta Bronson, daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Fred Bronson of Cherry street
and her husband is the son of Mr.
and Mrs. William Cuppies, living
two miles north and one mile west of
Mt. Cory. The survivors of the
sinking are staying at the Bronson
home.
The couple arrived in toxVn Sun
day afternoon from Key West, Fla.,
where the large Norwegian rescue
COUNTY TO GET
SUGAR CANNING
PERMITS IN LIMA
Permits to be Issued Only at
Coordinator’s Office Under
Present Setup
Housewives in Hancock County
Must List Number of Jars
Consumed Last Year
Bluffton housewives wishing to ob
tain additional sugar for canning
will be required to apply at the of
fice of H. B. Fox, Allen county ra
tioning coordinator in Lima, it was
stated Wednesday morning.
Fox stated that no plans had been
made for issuing canning sugar per
mits at the various schools of the
county as was done recently when
sugar ration books for individuals
were issued.
Fox said Wednesday that he was
awaiting authority to change the
basis for rationing of canning sugar
from five pounds per person per
year to the new basis, recently set
up in Washington according to press
dispatches.
New Basis
This new basis, according to re
ports will grafit one pound of sugar
for every four quarts of canned
fruit and additional pound of sugar
for each member of the family to
make jellies, jams and preserves.
Issuing of permits on the new
basis will start in Hancock county
Thursday morning. Hancock county
residents applying for canning sugar
permits are notified to bring their
war rationing books for the family
unit, be able to give the number of
jars of fruit consumed last year and
compute the estimate to be canned,
this year.
To Close Saturday
The following establishments will
be closed all day Saturday, Memorial
day. They will be open Friday
night for convenience of the public.
Basinger’s Furniture store, Atlan
tic & Pacific Tea Co., Barnes Gro
cery, City Markets, Lape Co., Stein
er & Huser, Fred Gratz, W. H.
Gratz, L. T. Greding, John Fett &
Sons, Basinger Funeral home, Peter
Gratz, Todd Grocery, Economy store,
ISuties cleaners, Alspach & Son,
iRuff’s, Helen’s Hat shoppe, H. Sic
■field bakery’.
Youths Lukewarm To Summer Work On
Farms As War Industry Jobs Beckon
NOTICE
Due to increased costs
newspaper operations,
all subscriptions to the
Bluffton News within the
U. S. A. will be $2 per
year in advance beg’n
ning June 1, 1942.
Subscriptions will be
received at present rates
until that time.
THE
BLUFFTON
NEWS
ship had taken them from the Carib
bean Sea.
Sinking May 16
The sinking of the ship, a small
American cargo vessel, occurred on
May 16 at 5 p. m., two days after
she left the port of Barranquilla,
Colombia, 75 miles off the coast of
Nicaragua in the Caribbean Sea. It
was announced by the Navy depart
ment Saturday.
The Bluffton family were the only
passengers on the small vessel which
was carrying a load of Colombian
coffee bound for a United States
port.
The Bluffton couple’s first escape
with death occurred when the tor
pedo struct the ship in a glancing
blow. Had the torpedo exploded the
Little Response to Federal Plan
To Recruit Students for
Farm Work
Farmers, too, Show Little En
thusiasm Claim Labor
Inexperienced
Jobs in war industries for this
summer are definitely more attract
ive to Bluffton high school and col
lege graduates than jobs on farms,
it was indicated in a survey of the
situation the first of the week.
Although federal agencies have
been attempting to recruit youth of
high school age here for summer
work on farms the response has been
slight and the youths themselves ap
pear lukewarm to the proposal.
On the other hand they are eyeing
with favor the prospect of employ
ment in defense industries. With
commencement season at an end and
graduating exercises over, several
from here are expecting to leave
within the next few days for Detroit
where they have obtained employ
ment, beginning work next Monday.
Favor Industry
Better pay, shorter hours and a
more varied selection of jobs are the
principal reasons given for prefer
ence of jobs in industry over work
on farms.
However, farmers, themselves, ap
pear to be none too optimistic over
the success of the plan, and it is
probable that comparatively few re
quests for this class of labory would
be made even were it available.
In this connection farmers point
out that the labor would be largely
inexperienced and with the large
number of diverse farm operations
the greater part of the summer
would be spent in training this help.
See More Accidents
Another drawback pointed out is
the fact that the possibility of acci
dents would be greater because of
inexperienced laboi. In this situa
tion the farmer, as an employer,
would probably be 1 able for damages
unless covered by industrial insur
ance which is not generally carried.
Conditions attracting high school
and college youths to employment in
war industries are those which have
previously denuded the farm areas
of surplus labor.
With no surplus labor available to
meet the peak seasoned demand such
as is encountered at harvest time,
farm women and children who
worked in the fields last year will
again be called upon this summer,
according to the present outlook.
Josephine Niswander
Graduates At Tiffin
Miss Josephine Niswander, daugh
ter of Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Nis
wander residing north of Bluffton,
will be graduated with the Bachelor
of Arts degree at commencement ex
ercises of Heidelberg college, Tiffin,
next Monday morning.
She majored in mathematics and
education, was a member of Kappa
Delta Pi, honorary education fra
ternity and will receive a high school
teaching certificate in mathematics,
Latin and French.
The commencement address will be
delivered by Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver
of Cleveland.
Real Estate Deals
Dr. B. W. Travis has purchased
from Mrs. Moses Steiner the new
residence property on West Kibler
street completed last fall and occu
pied by Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Bruse.
Mrs. Dora Roberts has sold her
farm south of Rockport to Gerald
Chidester of near Beaverdam.
THE BLUFFTON NEWS
A NEWSPAPER DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF BLUFFTON AND VICINITY
BLUFFTON FAMILY RESCUED AFTER NIGHT IN LIFE BOAT
WHEN NAZI SUB SINKS THEIR VESSEL IN CARIBBEAN SEA
Cuppies family would have met cer
tain death because investigation
showed the blow hit immediately be
low the cabin occupied by the Bluff
ton residents.
Jarred Ship
The force of the torpedo jarred
the ship considerably but caused no
particular damage. The captain
thought that one of the loading
chutes had fallen to the steel floor.
Several minutes later when the
prow of a submarine was seen ris
ing in the distance the crew realized
that trouble was in the offing. The
submarine drew as close as 100
yards away and the Nazi Swastika
was clearly visible.
Hundreds of shells were being
fired into the American vessel,
College Commencement
Week Visitors
Among those from out of town
who attended Bluffton college com
mencement activities over the week
end were:
Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Locher, Mrs.
Woodrow Luginbuhl, Mrs. Herbert
Coon, Mrs. Ruth Yeck. Mr. and Mrs.
Robert Close, Cleveland Susan
Steiner, Rev. and Mrs. P. J. Boehr,
Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Grothaus, Pan
dora Mr. and Mrs. Glen Morgan,
Mr. and Mrs. Ira Baumgartner,
Sylvania Mrs. Alice Martin, Mrs.
Anne Ebersole Garvin, Mr. and Mrs.
John Weaver, Mr. and Mrs. Mahlon
Hartzler, Goshen, Ind.
Mr. and Mrs. Carl Smucker, Don
Smucker, Elton Beery, Wadsworth
Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Zehr, Mr. and
Mrs. A. P. Sprunger, Martin Wine
miller, Mr. and Mrs. R. R. Schryer,
Lima Dr. and Mrs. Samuel Fluecki
ger, North Manchester, Ind. Dr.
and Mrs. Otha G. Thompson, Alli
(Continued on page 8)
Nonnamaker-M umma
Nuptials At Church
Wedding of Miss Wilma Nonna
maker, daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
S. F. Nonnamaker of Spring street
and Richard Mumma, son of Mr. and
Mrs. Ray Mumma of South Main
street, took place at the Presbyter
ian church Friday afternoon at 4:30
o’clock.
Officiating at the service was the
Rev. A. C. Schultz, Bluffton colh ge
Bible instructor and faculty adviser
to Mr. Mumma who is taking the
pre-ministerial course at the college.
The double ring ceremony was used.
The bride wore an attractive dusty
rose gown with biege accessories.
Her corsage was of talisman roses
surrounded by white sweetpeas.
Miss Helen Habegger, of Busby,
Montana, and a sophomore at Bluff
ton college, was maid of honor. She
wore a light blue dress and navy
accesories. Her corsage was made
of red and pink roses.
Herbert Fretz, of Lansdale, Pa.,
and college classmate of Mr. Mum
ma, was best man.
The bride was given in marriage
by her father after the bridal party
entered the church to the strains of
Lohengrin’s Wedding March with
Miss Lucille Steiner, Bluffton college
senior, at the organ.
Preceding the wedding ceremony
Miss Steiner played The Indian Love
Call, O Promise Me, I Love You
Truly, and Because. After the brief
organ recital Laurence Burkhalter
played Liebest raum as a violin solo.
The front of the church was at
tractively decorated with garden
flowers. The ceremony was witnessed
by members of the immediate fami
lies and close friends.
Immediately after the ceremony
the couple left for a short wedding
trip through the southern part of
the state. They are living in the
Whitmer apartment on South Jack
son street and will attend summer
school at Bluffton college.
Graduates From
Oberlin College
Miss Roberta Biery was graduated
with the Bachelor of Arts degree at
commencement exercises of Oberlin
college
grees wei
350.
She majored in languages and was
a member of Phi Beta Kappa, hon
orary scholastic fraternity. She ex
pects to enroll next fall in the grad
uate school of the University of
Chicago where she has been granted
a scholarship.
Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. C. A.
Biery attended commencement exer
cises at Oberlin, Tuesday.
many of them of four and one-half
inch calibre which 1 ore holes in the
to three feet in
side
diameter.
of the ship one
Ordered to Lifeboats
Th e crew, and the passengers
which consisted of only the Cuppies
fami ly, were ordered to the rafts
and lifeboats. Even though the
crew could be plain ly seen lowering
the lifeboats the siTelling continued
and as Mr. and rs. Cuppies and
son were stepping into the boat a
four inch shell hit only eight feet
above them killing several men.
One of the sailors who died in
this direct hit of the Nazi cannon
just a few seconds before his -death
had thrown several blankets into
the lifeboat for the protection and
Manchester College President
Speaks on Christian
College Today
36 Seniors Graduated in Ser
vices at First Mennonite
Church Monday
Christianity, as the citadel of de
mocracy, was seen as the one hope
for making the republican form of
government an effective ideal, accord
ing to Pres. Vernon F. Schwalm, of
Manchester College, North Man
chester, Ind., who addressed Bluffton
college commencement exercises Mon
day morning.
The First Mennonite church was
filled for the occasion as the speaker
forcefully delivered his address to
the 36 graduating seniors on the
subject “The Christian College in
Our Modern World”.
Traditional Pageantry
In traditional graduation pageant
ty, the black gowned academic pro
cession filed into the church audi
torium to the strains of Processional
with Prof. Otto Holtkamp at the
organ.
At the conclusion of the com
mencement address by Dr. Schwalm
the class was presented to Pres. L.
L. Ramseyer by Dr. J. S. Schultz,
dean of the college. The degrees
were then conferred by Dr. Ram
seyer in customary academic form
ality.
In Absentia
Two degrees, those of Evan Soa.sh,
of Bluffton and James Habegger of
Berne, Ind., were- presented in ab
sentia. Soash, son of Dr. and Mrs.
M. D. Soash of South Main street,
is in training for the United States
Navy and Habegger is in medical
school.
Miss Betty Leeson, of Bethany,
who has taken much of her college
work by correspondence was present
to receive her degree and listen to
the announcement of her election to
Pi Delta society, honorary scholar
ship organization.
Christianity Is Citadel Of Democracy
College Commencement Speaker States
Unable to walk without crutches
because of an attack of infantile
paralysis several years ago, Miss
Leeson received her diploma from
an usher who handed it to her when
her name was called by Dean
Schultz.
Summer Graduates
In addition to the 36 seniors two
Bachelor of Arts degrees as of Aug
ust 1941 were presented to William
Burbick of Newton Falls and Chloe
Dell Routson of McComb. A Bache
lor of Music degree as of August
1941 was presented to Ruth Ann
Rupp of Archbold.
Announcement of honors was made
by Dr. Schultz. The following sen
iors were elected to the Pi Delta so
ciety: Ruth Henderson, Columbus
Grove Elizabeth Leeson, Bethany
Richard Weaver, Goshen, Indiana
Eugene Weed, Bluffton. Depart
mental honors in chemistry for Rich
ard Weaver, Goshen, Indiana, were
announced.
President’s Statement
In the president’s annual state
ment, Dr. Ramseyer pointed out that
despite reduced enrollment because
of war conditions the college has
been able to continue the work large
ly because of the donations of
fi iends. Three individuals contribut
ed a total of $6,000 for current ex
penses.
In addition the churches have giv
en twice as much in the past nine
months as they have given in the
previous 12 months, it was stated by
Dr. Ramseyer.
A violin solo by Laurence Burk
halter with accompaniment by Bettye
nths old
suffered
n the arm and
afened bv the
of the crewmen were killed
y by the shell fire while an
died in the lifeboat from
wounds. The captain, 22 other crew
the Bluffton family were
When the little vessel went down
Mr. and Mrs. Cuppies lost all of
their possessions packed in two
large trunks and several suitcases.
In the trunks were many mementos,
souvenirs of Colombia, a radio,
musical instruments, two cameras,
(Continued on page 8)
BROTHER OF TWO
BLUFFTON WOMEN
HELD IN GERMANY
Former Ford Motor Represen
tative Is Interned in Old
Bavarian Castle
Sister Here Receive Card Mailed
Last January First Word
in Two Years
A brother of two Bluffton women,
who went to Poland in 1922 as a
representative of the Ford Motor Co.,
now is held in a German internment
camp at Laufen, Upper Bavaria,
Germany.
Word received last week by the
sisters, Mrs. R. W. Patterson and
Mrs. Cloyce D. Bame, both of this
place, was the first heard from the
former Findlay man since Germany
invaded Poland in 1939.
Clinton Schlaack, the writer, said
on a card mailed Jan. 10, 1942, that
he was interned with several other
Americans in an old castle in Ba
varia.
The location was interesting and
the air healthy, but quarters were
not too comfortable, he wrote. He
said that his wife, a Latvian girl he
married after going to Europe in
1922, was attempting to effect his
release, but that it was thought im
possible.
Births
The following births at the Bluff
ton hospital:
Mr. and Mrs. B. A. Reiter, Mt.
Cory, a girl, Friday.
Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Jump, Otta
wa, a girl, Sunday.
Born to Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Ken
nel, of Hamilton, a son at that
place on May 19. Mr. Kennel was
formerly associated with Bluffton
college as field secretary.
Mr. and Mrs. James Detweiler of
Lansing, Mich., are the parents of a
daughter, Jeanette Elizabeth, born
at that place Monday. Mrs. Det
weiler was the former Dorothy
Wiebe who attended Bluffton col
lege. She is the sister of Mrs. John
Boehr, west of town. Mr. Detweiler
is the son of Rev. I. R. Detweiler
of Goshen, Indiana.
Sgt. Hochstettler
Gets Army Wings
Staff Sergeant Francis L. Hoch
stettler, son of Mr. and Mrs. Wal
ter Hochstettler, of Route 2, Bluff
ton. was one of the graduates who
received his wings last week at Kelly
Field, San Antonio, Texas, where he
graduated after completing his
training course.
Graduation at Kelly Field was
held at the same time other pilots
received their wings at six other
Gulf Coast Training Centers. The
group finishing their work was the
largest in history.
Stall Sgt. Hochstettler will serve
as a pursuit pilot.
Every squeak and squeal from
unlubricated farm machinery is a
cheer for the Axis.
Lewis was presented. Prayer was
offered by Rev. R. L. Hartzler of
Topeka, Ind., and the benediction
was pronounced by Rev. P. J. Boehr
of Pandora.
(Continued on page 2)
BUY"
UNITED
states
SAVINGS
/BONDS
I AMI SUMPS
NUMBER 5
66 TO GRADUATE
FROM BLUFFTON
HIGH WEDNESDAY
Exercises to be Held in Gym
nasium this Wednesday
Night at 8 O'clock
Dr. John Ruskin Howe, Otter
bein College Head, to Give
Class Address
Graduating exercises for 66 sen
iors will be held at Bluffton High
school in the gymnasium this Wed
nesday night at 8 o’clock.
The class address will be delivered
by Dr. J. Ruskin Howe, president of
Otterbein college, Westerville, who
will speak on “Education for De
mocracy.”
Scholastic Honors
Ranking scholastic honor students
of the class, who will appear on the
program are Neil Neuenschwander,
valedictorian, and Carol Bame, salu
atorian.
The senior male quartet consist
ing of LeRoy Lugibihl, Norman
Beidler. Wilhelm Amstutz, Jr., and
Roger Howe will sing “The Bells of
St. Marys.”
Vocal solos will be sung by the
school’s winners in the state solo
and ensemble contest, Betty Holt
kamp and Roger Howe.
Present Diplomas
Following the class address by
Pres. Howe, diplomas will be pre
sented to 66 members of the grad
uating class by John Tosh, president
of the board of education.
The Bluffton High school orches
tra, under the direction of Harold
Thiessen, Bluffton college student
instructor, will play several numbers
during the program and also the
Processional, Coronation March by
Meyerbeer marking entrance of the
graduating class.
Class Roll
Members of the graduating class
are:
James Amstutz, Wilhelm Amstutz
II, Richard Augsburger, Ralph Bal
mer, Richard Balmer, Norman Beid
ler, Evan Burkholder, James Clark,
Robert Cooney, Harold Crouse,
Wayne Dailey.
James Deppler, James Fett, Byron
Fritchie, Kenneth Geiger, Richard
Gratz, Russell Gratz, John Herrman,
Roger Howe, Paul Klassen, Wilmer
Lehman, LeRoy Lugibihl.
Neil Neuenschwander, Lysle Nis
wander, James Reichenbach, Peter
Schmidt, Ned Schultz, Herbert Sie
field, Wesley Sommers, Evan Stein
er, James Steiner, James Stratton,
David Tosh, Carroll Tschiegg, Clay
ton Weiss, Merlin Zuercher.
Carol Bame, Daisy Basinger,
Betty Bish, Harriet Burkholder,
Margaret Burkholder, Hildred Ever
sole, Ruth Garmatter, Virginia Geig
er, Ruth Hankish.
Rosann Hilty, Rebecca Hofstetter,
Betty Holtkamp, Edna Huber, Glen
na Kohler, Treva Matter, Elaine
Mitchell, Marjorie Moser, Margery
Niswander, Marjorie Ream.
Ruth Schumacher, Eloise Sommer,
Mary E. Stearns, Marcone Stonehill,
Wava Stotts, Kathryn Swick, Mar
jean Todd, Eilene Triplehorn, Eileen
Wenger, Margaret Young, Marjorie
Zuercher.
Bluffton Men Win
Prizes in Contest
Second and third prizes in a na
tional coin week contest was award
ed to Dr. Evan Basinger and Rob
ert Benroth. Bluffton coin collectors,
by the American Numismatic so
ciety. it was announced the first of
the week.
Both local collectors promoted ex
tensive activity during national coin
week, April 19 to 25. They had a
large coin display in the window of
a local business establishment, spon
sored broadcasts pertaining to coins
over a Columbus radio station, and
prepared several articles for na
tional magazines and newspapers
publicizing the week.
Hundreds of coin collectors and
coin clubs participated in the con
test, with the local men winning sec
ond and third prizes because of their
extended activity.
Enlists In Navy
Fred Fritchie, Jr., son of Mr. and
Mrs. Fred Fritchie of Riley street,
fans enlisced in the United States
riavy for a six-year period and left
this Wednesday morning for the re
cruiting center at Cincinnati. If
successful in passing the physical ex
i amination he will be sent to one of
the naval training stations.