The Bluffton news. [volume], March 22, 1945, Image 1

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VOLUME NO. LXIX
BLUFFTON SOLDIER
REPORTED MISSING
IS WAR PRISONER
Pvt. James StonehiU Is Held
German Prisoner After Cap
ture in Belgium
BULLETIN
Pfc. Ned Schultz, 20, son of Mr. and
Mr®. Theo. Schultz of Kibler street
is a prisoner of was in Germany, it
was learned by his parents Wednes
day afternoon. He was reported as
missing in action December 16.
Pvt. James Stonehill, son of Mr.
and Mrs. Swan Stonehill, of East
Elm street, reported missing in ac
tion on the German front on Decem
ber 17, is in a prison camp in Ger
many, his parents learned Sunday.
Notification that Pvt. Stonehill was
a prisoner of the Germans first came
in a telegram from the War Depart
ment, which had been advised of that
fact by the International Red Cross.
On Tuesday, his parents received
a card written by him on January
16 in the prison camp. He told them
that he was alive and well in an
undisclosed location.
Pvt. Stonehill was inducted into
the Army on January 8 of last year,
and in October was sent overseas.
He was graduated from Bluffton
High school in the class of 1943.
His parents were notified on Jan
uary 17 that he had been missing in
action since Dec. 17, dating back to
the time of the German breakthru
in Belgium
Pvt. Stonehill is the second Bluff
ton youth to be taken prisoner of
war recently. Last week Mr. and
Mrs. Levi Althaus west of Bluffton
were notified that their son Pfc.
Ralph Althaus was in a German
prison camp.
Observe Golden
Wedding Sunday
Mr. and Mrs. A. C. Amstutz of
North Main street will observe their
Golden wedding anniversary Sun
day. A basket dinner will be held
at noon for the near relatives fol
lowed by open house from 2 to a
o’clock in the afternoon at the Noah
Basinger home on South Lawn ave
nue.
Mr. Amstutz, 79 and his wife, 77,
are pioneer Bluffton residents. They
were married March 27, 1895.
Their seven children are: Harry
Amstutz, Pueblo, Colorado, and Ray
mond Amstutz at home Mrs. Estella
Mahrenholz, Seattle, Wash. Mrs.
Pauline Hitz and Mrs. Edith Schaff
ter, Chicago Mrs. Helen Robinson,
Cleveland and Mrs. Josephine Main
of Ada. They also have 10 grand
children and one great grandchild.
Francis Schumacher
Wounded In Germany
Cpl. Francis Schumacher, son of
Mr. and Mrs. Eli Schumacher, of
west of Bluffton, suffered a head
wound on the Western battlefront in
•Germany on March 11, according to
word received Tuesday afternoon by
his wife, the former Florence Ver
hoff of Kalida.
The telegram from the War De
partment did not disclose the ex
tent of his injuries nor the circum
stances under which they were re
ceived. He is in a hospital in
France.
Schumacher who has been over
seas about one year is with an ar
mored reconaissance group of the
Ninth Armored Division, which cap
tured the Remagen bridgehead on
the Rhine.
He was graduated from Pandora
High school, and is a brother of Mrs.
Robert Benroth, of South Main
street, and Mrs. Milton Reichenbach
and Mrs. Denver Zimmerly, of near
Bluffton.
Council To Aid In
Harmon Field Upkeep
A grant of $150 to be used in the
upkeep and maintenance of Harmon
field, Bluffton’s summer recreation
center, was made Monday night by
the town council.
This sum will be turned over to
the board of education which holds
title to the field. The board at its
meeting last week authorized an ex
penditure of $300 to pay for the
services of a caretaker this sum
mer.
Graduates From Navy
Air Technical School
Cpl. Wilhelm Amstutz, Jr., son of
Mr. and Mrs. W. A. Amstutz north
west of Bluffton was graduated last
week from the Naval Air Technical
school at Corpus Christi, Texas, ac
cording to word received here. He
has since been transferred to the
Naval base at San Diego, Calif.
Overseas Veteran
Home On Furlough
Cpl. Harold Andrews who has
been in the European war area for
the past 15 months is spending a 28
day convalescent furlough at the
home of his parents, Mr. and Mrs.
Paul Andrew's south of Bluffton. He
arrived here Monday.
At the termination of his furlough
he will take further treatment at a
military hospital in Colorado. He
w’as previously hospitalized for a
month in England.
Cpl. Andrew’s has tw*o brothers
overseas, Cpl. Frederick Andrews in
France and Pvt. Robert Andrew's in
Germany.
EGGS FOR EASTER
PLENTIFUL HERE
AND PRICE IS RIGHT
Situation in Contrast to 1944
When Oversupply Flooded
Local Market
Eggs Bring 39 Cents Dozen in
Stores This Spring 29c
Last Year
Plenty of eggs will be available
for Easter in Bluffton this year, but
prices will be 10 cents a dozen high
er than in 1944 when an oversupply
dropped the market to the lowest
level in recent years.
Farmers are getting 32 cents a
dozen for quality eggs this year and
the retail price is 39 cents, in con
trast to the situation w'hich, prevail
ed last spring when the producer
received 22 cents and stores were
selling eggs for 29 cents.
Demand is especially good at
present because of the usual Easter
upswing and demand for hatching
eggs, but warmer weather of the
last week has helped increase the
supply and no shortage, is anticipat
ed. Prices thru the Easter season
are expected to remain steady, with
little fluctuation in either direction.
This year’s market price is about
the same as that of two seasons ago
when the retail price w’as 40 cents
a dozen, and is in marked contrast
to the situation prevailing in 1932
at the depth of the depression when
farmers received nine cents a dozen
for eggs.
Low Price In 1944
The market situation at Easter
last spring was the worst since
depression days for the farmer, for
with prevailing high prices for feed
a return of 22 cents per dozen net
ted the producer no more money
than nine cents in 1932.
Few’er eggs are being produced
this spring than last year when
markets w’ere glutted and for several
weeks the producer found it impos
sible to sell his products. Also, more
eggs are being eaten, because of
increased stringency of meat ration
ing bringing the substitution of
eggs as the principal item on many
menus.
Housewives favor eggs as a meat
substitute, for they are a valuable
source of proteins, iron and vitamins
A, and D. They also lend them
selves readily to many forms of
cooking skill, and in addition to
serving as the principal dish for a
meal can be used as tasty touches
for other dishes.
Hold Union Services
Here Thru Holy Week
Bluffton Easter Parade This Year
Will Be Gayest Since Start Of ar
Union services will be held thru
Holy week beginning next Sunday, it
is announced by the Bluffton Minis
terial association. Dr. John Ver
steeg, superintendent of Methodist
churches in Lima district will speak
from Sunday thru Wednesday nights.
His addresses will be:
Sunday, Methodist church, “Make
Up Your Life”.
Monday, First Mennonite church,
“On Your Own”.
Tuesday, St. John’s Reformed
church, “Generous to a Fault”.
Wednesday, Methodist church,
“Pay Day”.
On Thursday night a united com
munion service will be held at the
First Mennonite church.
Good Friday services will be held
at the Presbyterian church in the
afternoon from 12:30 to 3 o’clock.
On Easter Sunday the young peo
ple’s federation will present a can
tata at the sunrise service at St.
John’s Reformed church at 6:30
o’clock.
On Easter Sunday evening a union
adult choir will appear in a pro
gram, directed by Mrs. Pearl Mann.
All evening services will be held
at 8 o’clock.
Emphasis in Women’s Clothing
on Frivoloty and Color
This Spring
Heavy Early Buying Depletes
Stocks in Women’s Wear
ing Apparel
Bluffton folks are dressing up for
Easter this year in a manner that
will make the style parade the gayest
and most colorful since the start of
war. Warm weather of the past
week has added to the Eastern holi
day air.
Clothing sales have jumped ap
proximately 50 per cent since the
Easter shopping rush began, and re
tail store authcnities are predicting
that the amount spent for the
spring fashion parade will top the
record 1929 figure.
Women are buying the more frivo
lous items, with emphasis on gay
colors and feminity, sales clerks say.
Frivolol Hats
Hats, more frivolous than usual,
are an evidence of the trend. Al
most all of them have veils and flow
ers, adding to the cost, but with
money plentiful few questions are
raised about the amount required for
the Easter purchase.
Local retailers said the first of the
week that the problem is not one of
attracting customers, but rather ob
taining merchandise. Stocks in many
lines of wearing apparel are ex
hausted, they said, with replacements
uncertain, while selections are low
in others.
With a lot of money in circulation
and only a few things to spend it
on, the family budget will allow more
expenditures in the purchase of
Easter clothing this spring.
No Budgeting Now
In pre-war days, the Easter budget
had to be planned in relation to
other springtime expeditures, which
often included the purchase of a new
car. Now automobiles are not avail
able, and a plentiful supply of ready
cash cannot even go into operating
the old family bus because of the
rigid driving restrictions imposed by
gasoline and tire rationing.
Families who in other years might
have planned to put their money into
a new house count that expenditure
out now. New homes cannot be
built and many persons don’t want
to buy any old type structure, pre
ferring to wait until a modern res
idence can be constructed.
Spending for Easter clothing,
however, apparently is coming from
money received in current wages and
salaries. War bonds are not being
cashed to pay for the Easter buying
splurge, is evidence- that the serious
business of winning and financing
the war still remains in the minds of
area residents.
Opposing Groups Seek
Control Of A. C. & Y.
Control of one of Bluffton’s rail
roads, the Akron, Canton & Youngs
town is the prize for which a tense
battle was being waged at Akron
Wednesday between opposing groups
of the road’s stockholders.
Upon the outcome will determine
whether control of the road will go
to a group of Cleveland and eastern
financiers or to its management
headed by its 41-year-old president,
H. B. Stewart, Jr., who has the
support of Akron industrialists.
The validity of proxies for a re
ported 1,500 or fewer shares is ex
pected to determine the outcome of
the meeting which was in its second
day Wednesday.
The road was released February 1,
1944 from an eleven year trusteeship
and since that time has built up a
two and one-half million dollar cash
reserve which is a focal point in the
battle for control.
Bluffton Man In
English Hospital
Pvt. Omar Welty who was wound
ed in France, February 9, has been
transferred from a Paris hospital to
a hospital in England, according to
word received by his wife residing
south of Bluffton on the Dixie high
way.
Pvt. Welty was wounded in the
back and ribs. He is the son of Mr.
and Mrs. Sylvanus Welty of this
place.
Real Estate Deal
Mr. and Mrs. Rolland Guider have
sold the former Ira Troxel property
on Riley street to Mr. and Mrs.
Charles Emans. Mrs. Emans and
family will occupy the residence.
Her husband is now in Naval serv
ice.
1 HE BLUFFTON NEWS
A NEWSPAPER DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF BLUFFTON AND VICINITY
BLUFFTON, OHIO, THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 1945
AIRPORT INTEREST
REVIVES AS LINES
SEEK AIR ROUTES
Two Additional Firms File Ap
plications That Would In
clude Bluffton
Only Municipally Owned Air
port Can Qualify for Fed
eral Aid
Renewed impetus was given to the
movement to procure a municipal air
port here when tw’O applies.were
filed the first of the week with the
Civil Aeronautics board in Washing
ton for permission to operate airlines
in Ohio on a route that would take
the planes directly over Bluffton
while flying between Lima a- i Find
lay.
The applications filed this week are
the latest additions to a num!.seek
ing franchise rights for air routes in
this section.
According to Clayton Biv has
been instrumental in the development
of sentiment for an airport here, two
of the firms applying for franchise
have designated Bluffton as a stop,
providing suitable landing facilities
were supplied. Other propo- lines,
it is believed, would land planes here
if there were adequate airport accom
modations.
Three Groups Seek Franchise
Three groups at present are endeav
oring to obtain franchises for the op
eration of airlines thru this district,
and for Bluffton to be listed as one
of the regular stops a municipal air
port answering Civil Aeronautics
Board standards must be ‘established
here.
Additional incentive flor the town to
make a decision soon relative to the
airport proposal is the fact that fed
eral funds will be availabl for post
war airport dvelopment if arrange
ments are completed in time.
An engineer representing the Civil
Aeronautics Board in a survey here
last fall indicated that Bluffton can
qualify for federal assistance in de
veloping an airport if v‘L proper pre
liminary steps are taken in securing a
site and putting up buildings.
C. A. B. requirements are for an
air field of at least 80 acres, with a
hangar and facilities for stocking gas
oline and oil. Title must be held by
the municipality to qualify for gov
ernment aid.
Funds Available
With these minimum requirements
met, federal funds will be available
for draining, field lighting and con
structing runways, it was pointed out.
Dayton and Western Airlines, of
Dayton, was one of the firms filing an
application this week to establish an
airline thru this area. Terminals
would be in Cincinnati and Detroit,
with the route going thru Dayton,
Lima, Findlay and Toledo.
This corporation is owned by three
major inter-city bus companies, one
of w'hich is the Cincinnati and Lake
Erie Transportation Co. which now
operates buses thru Bluffton.
Tse second application filed by the
Ohio Air Express Corp., of Columbus,
also wants permission to cover vir
tually the same route.
The latter firm would use airplanes
only, and the former concern plans
to use both airplanes and helicopters.
In New Locations
Don Edie and family have moved
from Pandora to the Willard Frank
hauser property at the intersection
of Route 103 and the county line
east of town.
Ad. Klapp and family have moved
from the Hankish apartments above
the Todd grocery to the Cherry
street property recently purchased
from Mrs. Agnes Warkentin Moore.
Mrs. Moore and family have moved
to Ottawa. Robert Edinger and
family have moved from Arcadia
into the Hankish apartment. Eding
er is section foreman on the Nickel
Plate railroad.
Harry Hauenstein and family have
moved from the Sam King farm
east of Pandora to the John Hall
farm west of Pandora. The King
farm, owned by Mrs. P. C. Steiner
of Pandora will be operated by her
son Hayden Steiner, formerly in
structor in manual training at Bluff
ton high school.
Mrs. Eva Kohli is occupying an
apartment above the former Helen’s
Hat shop in the Mrs. M. M. Kibler
building.
Will Leave Soon For
Coast Guard Service
David Anderson, son of Mr. and
Mrs. Harry Anderson of Orange
township has enlisted in the coast
guard and will be called next w’eek
to begin training.
Spring, cold, damp and chilly, ar
rived officially Tuesday night at 6:38
o’clock followed later in the night by
a driving rain which effectually re
moved all vestiges of warm weather
of the past week and sent the ther
mometer down to the upper thirties.
The cold snap, however, is not un
usual for this time of year, weather
records indicate. They disclose that
in only four years during the last
60 years has it failed to snow in
April.
Average date of the last killing
frost since 1871 is April 22 and the
average light frost for the same
period is May 14. The average date
for the last snow of the season is
April 18.
“Know-how” Gained in Previous
Seasons Seen in Better Plot
Management
Lessons Learned Will Be Ap
plied in Fourth Year of
Gardening
Victory gardeners, perhaps a little
less enthusiastic but far wiser than
when they first started wielding
rakes and hoes at the outbreak of
war, got their gear into shape and
began work on their fourth year of
wartime gardening during springtime
weather of the last week.
In their first three years of vic
tory gardening Bluffton residents
have learned many lessons, most of
which are applied now in using their
brains to save their backs.
One of the most common mistakes
in the early days of victory garden
ing was in the selection of too large
a plot of ground, and only thru ex
perience did many amateurs learn
that it isn’t the size of the garden
as much as the skill of managing it
that produces the best results and
fills the home vegetable cellar in the
fall.
Spring Arrives Cold, Damp And
Chilly As Warm Spell Vanishes
Another lesson learned the hard
way by many was the knowledge
that it isn’t the bubbling-over zest
of early spring, evaporating with the
hot days of mid-summer, that gets
things done, but rather a carefully
mapped plan of work and crop rota
tion.
Planting early crops that can be
harvested in early summer and fol
lowed by later maturing vegetables
can go far toward eliminating un
necessary work, and still produce
the same results that a larger plot
could give.
Three years of gardening have
taught many that the duties of their
regular jobs do not permit much
time for outside activities, and that
it is better to tend a small garden
well than to plant a plot too large
for the time they have to spend
on it.
Robert Burkholder
Gets Honor Rating
Victory Gardeners Again At Work
Less Enthusiastic But Far Wiser
Robert Burkholder, son of Mr. and
Mrs. Harvey H. Burkholder, of west
of Bluffton, was honored last week
by selection as honor man of his
company at the U. S. Naval Train
ing Center, Sampson, N. Y.
The Bluffton youth will complete
his boot training this week and is
expected home on a furlough the
latter part of the week.
He graduated from Bluffton High
school in the class of 1944, and was
a star athlete during his four years
in school.
Bluffton’s drive to raise $3,000 in
the annual Red Cross War Fund
campaign was nearing the $2,300
mark this week, according to a re
port made by Woodrow Little, chair
man of the local solicitation.
Reports of 85 of 87 solicitors
showed a total of $2,210 raised so
far in house-to-house solicitation.
An additional $86 is reported by
members of the Lions club in the
solicitation of business firms, organ
izations and industries, with final
report from that source expected by
the close of the week.
Births
The following births at Bluffton
hospital:
Mr. and Mrs. Ray Johnson, Bluff
ton, a girl, Rae Ann, this Wednes
day.
Mr. and Mrs. Brice Henry, Jr.,
Lima, a boy, Tuesday.
Mr. and Mrs. Orlin Wilch, Rawson,
a boy, Tuesday.
Mr. and Mrs. Cleland Amstutz,
Pandora, a girl, Joyce Eileen, Sat
urday.
Mr. and Mrs. Clifford Elliott,
Bluffton, a girl, Joyce Irene, last
Wednesday.
TOWN.MAY SUPPLY
FIRE PROTECTION
THRUOT DISTRICT
All of Nearby District But Un
ion Twp. May Come Under
New Arrangement
Beaverdam Shows Interest in
Contract Richland Town
ship Accepts
After delivery of Bluffton’s new
fire truck-pumper this spring, the
municipality may have the respon
sibility of providing rural fire pro
tection for all of the rural area
within an eight-mile radius of here,
except for Union township, north of
town, Mayor W. A. Howe said fol
lowing a meeting of the council,
Monday night.
Expanding interest in Bluffton’s
proposal to add rural fire protection
as a regular part of its service was
evidenced in appearance at the
council meeting of a delegation from
the Beaverdam village to inquire
into details of the arrangement.
Richland township has completed
negotiations with the town for fire
protection at a flat rate of $250 per
year, and Orange township trustees
have signified that they are ready to
complete arrangements for the
service on a similar basis.
$125 Annual Fee
Cost of fire protection to Beaver
dam would be $125 annually, it was
explained at Monday’s meeting with
O. E. Bowers, president, Carrie Cook
a member and Ruth Durkee, clerk,
of the Beaverdam council who con
ferred here with the Bluffton council.
With Richland and Orange town
ships and Beaverdam participating
in the fire protection setup, Bluffton
would receive a total of $625 each
year. It was pointed out this would
barely cover the outside area’s
proportionate share of the cost of
operating and maintaining the equip
ment in an average year, without
contributing to its original purchase
price.
Red Cross War Fund Drive To Raise
$3,000 At $2,296 Mark This Week
Confidence that the town’s goal of
$3,000 will be reached was expressed
by Chairman Little. He is assisted
in conducting the drive by Mrs. J.
S. Steiner, co-chairman.
In past years, the town has
charged a nominal flat rate of $25
for every call outside the corpora
tion, but inasmuch as there was no
agreement for any specific party to
be responsible for payment reim
bursement for such runs often was
not forthcoming.
Bluffton’s new fire truck, is
scheduled for delivery this spring,
will have a 400-gallon booster tank
filled with water, which would be
available as soon as the equipment
arrives at the fire, thereby fitting
it for rural fire fighting.
Former Bluffton
Resident Married
Wedding of W. A. (Dean) Hall,
former Bluffton resident now living
in St. Louis to a widow of that city
took place in St. Louis, Sunday, ac
cording to word reveived here the
first of the week. Hall, who was
reared in Bluffton in the early days
of the town is 83 and his bride is 58.
In France
Pfc. Karl Aukerman has arrived
with an Army unit in France, ac
cording to word received here. He is
a brother of Chas. Aukerman, man
ager of the A. & P. store.
Acal
BUY
uwmu»
NUMBER 48
DEFERMENT GIVEN
BLUFFTON MAN IN
APPEAL DECISIONS
Board’s Classification of
Registrants Reversed in
Only One Appeal
Seven Other Registrants Re
main in Class 1-A, Includ
ing BlulTton Man
Only one of eight appealed 1-A
draft classifications rated deferment
in appeal decisions announced this
W'eek by Allen County Draft Board
No. 3, which has jurisdiction over
all of rural Allen county, including
Bluffton and Richland township.
Gerald D. Crawfis, of Bluffton, re
ceived the deferment in the only Ap
peal Board reversal of the Local
Board’s classification, it was an
nounced.
A classification of 2-A was granted
on an appeal by C. F. Niswander,
employer of the registrant.
Another Bluffton man, Harold
Crawfis, was retained in Cl&ss 1-A
by the Appeal Board. He had been
classified 1-A by the Local Board.
Other decisions announced by the
board were:
Winford Desmond Bell, Spencer
ville. ClassiAed in Class 1-A by
Local Board. Lima Tank Depot ap
pealed. Classification of 1-A upheld
by the Board of Appeals.
Elmer Isaac Ramga, St. Marya.
Classified in Class 1-A by Local
Board. The Goodyear Tire & Rub
ber Co. appealed. Classification of
1-A upheld by the Knightstown, In
diana, Board of Appeals.
Frederick Lawrence John, Elida.
Classified in Class 1-A by Ixcal
Board. W. C. Hansbarger, appealed.
Classification of 1-A upheld by the
Board of Appeals.
Jack Leroy Smith, Dayton, Ohio.
Classified in Class 1-A by Local
Board. Registrant appealed. Class
ification of 1-A upheld by the Board
of Appeals.
William Albert Roeder, Spencer
ville. Classified in Class 1-A by Lo
cal Board. Lima Tank Depot ap
pealed. ClSxstfflcatfcm of 1-A upheld
by the Board of Appeals. This clas
sification was appealed to the Presi
dent. Presidential classification, 1-A.
Bluffton Woman Will
Sail Friday For Syria
Barbara Joyce Hauenstein will
sail Friday from New York for
Beirut, Syria, to become a teacher
in a girls’ school operated by the
foreign mission board of the Presby
terian church.
Miss Hauenstein, accompanied by
her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Sidney
Hauenstein of Campus drive left
Sunday evening for New York pre
paratory to sailing.
She will go direct to Alexandria,
Egypt, and from there to Beirut.
Her first year abroad will be
spent in Jerusalem studying the
Arabian language. Altho classes in
the school are conducted in English
the language of the country is
Arabic of which teachers are re
quired to acquire a speaking knowl
edge.
The girls’ school was formerly
part of the American University of
Beirut, which latter was taken over
by the Syrian government several
years ago.
For the past three years Miss
Hauenstein has been an instructor at
a southern mountain school operated
by the Presbyterian mission board at
1 Sunset Gap, Tennessee.
Operetta At High
School On Friday
An operetta “In Grandmother’s
Garden” will be staged by the Bluff
ton high school chorus in the audi
torium, Friday night at 8 o’clock. A
matinee performance also will be
given on Thursday afternoon at 1:30
o’clock.
The production is staged under di
rection of Miss Harriet Brate, in
structor in public school music.
Principals appearing in the cast
are: Jean Ann Steinman, Ray Follas,
Helen Burkholder, Malcolm Basinger,
Sarah Amstutz, Paul Reichenbach,
Joanne Harmon, Jean Ann Burcky,
Marilyn Stratton, Jean Burkholder,
Marilyn Fett, Joan Burkholder, Mary
Bauman, Wanda Tschiegg, Imogene
Wenger and Alice Jean Bixel.
Women's Shop Here
Has New Owner
Mrs. Paul Clark has purchased
Helen’s Hat Shop, women’s accessory
I store on South Main street, it was
announced by the former owner, Mrs.
I Helen Wells Tuesday. The new
I owner has already taken possession.