Newspaper Page Text
VOLUME NO. LXX PLANS TO BE MADE FOR NEW STACK AT MUNICIPAL PLANT Preparation Of Blueprints And Specifications Authorized By Town Council Construction of 225-Foot Stack Will Not Be Started Until After First Of Year », Laying the groundwork for im provements that will result in more economical operation of Bluffton’s municipal light plant and water works, the town council Monday night authorized the preparation of blueprints and specifications for a new 225-foot smoke stack for the plant. Construction of the new stack is not to be started until after the first of the next year, but 'Monday’s acion by the council paved the way for the clearing of all preliminaries. Preparation of the blueprints and specifications will be handled by the Toledo engineering firm of Froelich and Emery, employed last year in a consulting capacity by the Board of Public Affairs, which directs opera tion of the municipal plant. Construction of a larger stack Was recommended by the firm as a means of obtaining increased economy in operation, inasmuch as the present stack was not designed for a plant with the capacity now’ demanded. The new stack, 225 feet high and eight feet in fiameter, will be twice as high as the present 110-foot sftick. i .4 Roberta Manges Is Ohid 4-H Delegate Roberta Manges, daughter of Mr. and rs. Byron Manges of near Bluffton, has t^een chosen Ohio repre sentative to Camp Jackson’s Mill, West Virginia* as leadership recogni tion in 4-H cltb work. Camp Jackflm’s is the former home of StoAwall ■kckson, and the mill 4hidh his Jrandfathsr built still stands as a focal attraction in the picturesque camp of over 500 acres bordering the Monongahela riv er. Miss Manges left Tuesday to repre sent Ohio at the camp. She was named Ohio’s outstanding 4-H leader by a state committee on the basis of the wrork she has done with Hancock county clubs. During the past year she attended Bluffton college. Conference Attendance Tops Early Estimates One hundred and forty young peo ple of the United Brethren church are attending a conference on the Bluffton college campus this week. An attendance of 100 had been an ticipated. In attendance this week are young people of junior high school age. Another group of senior high school age will be held next wTeek, attendance at which is estimated at 100. Those in attendance come from the Sandusky conference, comprising United Brethren churches in North west Ohio. Dr. V. Allman, re siding south of Bluffton on the Dixie highway is conference superintend ent. In New Locations Harvey Wilch, Bluffton restaura teur, has moved with his family into apartments at the rear of the Elk restaurant w’hich he operates. The High street property vacated by Wilch will be occupied by Frank Stalder of Riley street who purchas ed the property from the late Jacob Hochstettler. Ben Shafer, former Bluffton resi dent, has moved from Rawson into the Fred Badertscher property at South Main and Kibler streets vacat ed by Mrs. Herbert Luginbuhl and son who moved last week to Arling ton, Virginia. Shafer is employed at the generating plant of the Central Ohio Light & Power Co. Light Plant To Buy New Feed Pump Purchase of a new $2,150 pump to feed water for the boilers at the municipal light plant and wrater works was authorized Monday night at a meeting of the Bluffton council. The pump will be bought by the Board of Public Affairs, which is in charge of operation of the plant. War Bond Drive At $120,000 Mark With 10 more days of sales to be credited toward the Seventh War Loan Drive, Bluffton’s campaign to raise $100,000 was over the top by $20,000 Tuesday afternoon. Indications at present are that ag gregate bond sales for the town will top the $130,000 mark by the time the drive is concluded on June 30, Co-Chairmen N. A. Triplett and M. M. Bogart said. House-to-house solicitation has been completed, and final reports by captains in charge of sales in 10 zones will be made within the next week. HOPE FOR END OF TWO WEEKS RAIN AS SKIES CLEAR Many Fields in Bluffton Area Still Under Water After Downpours Corn Crop is Hard Hit Mead ows Booming and Wheat Growing Rank With sun shining Wednesday morn ing farmers in the Bluffton area are hoping for a break in nearly two weeks of continuous overcast skies and torrential downpours of rain which have flooded fields and brought farm operations virtually to a stand still. Since June 8, rain has fallen daily. The last heavy rainfall was Sun day followed by light showers Mon day and Tuesday giving rise to hopes that the long continued period of precipitation may be gradually end ing. Rainfall here during the past 11 days has reached a record total of 5.46 inches. This figure exceeds both the total rainfall of 3.61 inches for the month last year and the 40 year average of 3.38 inches for the month of June Fields thruout the district have i been inundated for more than a week I and water is still standing in large areas in low lying sections. Corn Hard Hit Hardest hit is the corn crop, al ready late because of delayed plant ing. Most of the stand is only a i few inches above ground and some of the plants are turning yellow be cause of excessive moisture. Water-logged fields have made cul tivation of the crop impossible and many farmers are holding on to sur plus corn stocks until prospects for the crop are more clear. Strawberries, likewise which are short this year because of late frosts have sustained further damage by the excessively wet weather. The crop this year is less than twenty five per cent normal, according to growers and no home grown berries have appeared on the local markets. The few berries obtainable are being sold at the farm bringing a record top price of 45 cents a quart. Grass, Wheat, Grow Rank The long rain period is booming meadows and pasture fields, while grass along the country highways is so tall as to obscure many of the road signs. The continuous rainfall, however, has interfered with hay making and some hay which was cut two weeks ago is still in the fields. Wheat, fence-high and still green, is the tallest in years and has shown no signs of ripening. The crop, farmers predict will be large and straw the heaviest in many seasons. Absence of heavy winds in connec tion with the two weeks of rain and thunderstorms has kept the stand of wheat in good condition with prac tically none blown down. The next two weeks, however, will be critical, farmers say, as a moderate wind storm could do widespread damage. Harvest, this year will be late, with little wheat cut until after the Fourth of July. Reunions Annual Owens school reunion will be held Slnday, June 24 at Richland Grange hall. Pres., Russell Huber Sec., Kathryn Bell. The annual Schaublin reunion will be held at the Buckeye lake Sunday, June 24th. Raymond Schaublin, president. Work done at the Northern Regional Research Laboratory, Peoria, Illinois, indicates that about 90 to 95 gallons of motor fuel can be manufactured from a ton of corn cobs or of cottonseed hulls. Half the volume of fuel is in the form of ethyl alcohol. The manufacturing process will be further tested on a semi-commercial scale. 0 SALARY SCHEDULE FOR TEACHERS TO BE FIXED MONDAY Daniels-Cramer Bill Expected To Permit Same Salaries As Paid in 1944-45 Little Change In Schedule Of Salaries Anticipated In Coming Year Salaries of teachers, janitors and others in the public school system will be fixed next Monday night at a special session of the Bluffton Board of Education, with indications that pay schedules will be about the same as those paid for the 1944-45 term. No statement could be obtained from official sources, but it is be lieved that passage of the Daniels Cramer bill by the state legislature over the governor’s veto last week will keep salaries about where they were last year. Bluffton teachers received a salary increase for the 1944-45 term when an increased pay schedule was made possible largely thru an emergency fund voted by the legislature. This amounted to a flat increase of $203.50 for each full-time teacher. Of this, $140.50 came from the state emergency fund and $60 from the local board’s operating funds. It is believed that the additional funds provided for the Blufftnn school district by the Daniels Cramer bill will just about take the place of the increase of last year and that the local teachers’ salary schedule will remain about the same for the 1945-46 school year. Other sources predicted there may be a slight increase in pay for teach ers, but with no official statement forthcoming on the situation, the answer cannot be determined until the Board of Education meets next Monday. Under the Daniels-Cramer bill, Bluffton schools are expected to re ceive between $7000 and $8000 ad ditional foundation funds, Supt. Ralph Lanham said Tuesday. Last year the total foundation grant for Bluffton schools was approximately $24,000. Indiana Doctor Dies Wife From Near Here Dr. W. B. Page, 75, practising physician in Goshen Indiana, for 35 years was found dead in bed at his home in that city last Thursday morning. Death was at tributed to a heart attack His wife who survives is the form er Alice Thutt native of near New Stark and a teacher in the Orange township schools some 50 years ago. She is a sister of Dr. B. F. Thutt of Elida and an aunt of Mrs. Clay ton Murray of Bluffton and Mrs. Howard Beery of Columbus Grove. Dr. Page served as a medical mis sionary in India nearly 50 years ago being one of the first to be sent into foreign service by the Mennonite church After several years in that country he contracted cholera during an epidemic and returned home. Since that time he has prastised med icine* first in Middlebury, Ind., and later in Goshen. Funeral services were held Sunday morning in the Eighth Street Men nonite church in Goshen followed by burial at Forest Grove cemetery at Middlebury. Among those attending were Mrs Murray, Mrs. Beery and Dr. Thutt and daughter Kathryn. Besides his wife and son he is sur vived by a daughter, Mrs. Carl Stohl of Pekin, Illinois. Leave For Pacific Coast David Anderson and Harold Main of the Merchant Marine who were stationed since last spring at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., left Wednesday for the Pacific coast after a two weeks’ leave at their homes here. Anderson is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Anderson and Main the son of Mrs. Brice Main, all of Orange township. Honor Veteran Home From German Prison Honoring Pvt. Murray Shulaw of Lafayette, home from a German prison camp where he was held for 28 months, a family reunion was held at the home of his brother, C. B. Shulaw of Lafayette, Sunday. Among those from a distance who were present were: Czemia,"“Earl and Ora Shulaw of Lawrenceville, Ill., who visited relatives in Bluffton and vicinity and Mr. and Mrs. Ainial Shulaw and Mrs. Gladys Shulaw of Middletown. rHEzBLUFFTON NEWS A NEWSPAPER DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF BLUFFTON AND VICINITY BLUFFTON, OHIO, THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 1945 Details of how Pfc. Janies H. Am stutz, 20, a Bluffton High school graduate, met his death in an attack on Hasenfield, Germany, was received last week by the members of his family. This was the first information his family has had since late in Febru ary when they were informed Pfc. Amstutz had lost his life with the Ninth Division of the First Army on February 9 A letter from the chaplain of the slain youth’s division forwarded to The News by his sister, Mrs. Rayon Boutwell, of Route 1, reads as fol lows: “The unit was moving into the town of Hasenfield, Germany, and BUMPER WHEAT HARVEST EXPECTED HERE THIS SEASON Farmers Who Ordinarily Sell As Grain is Harvested May Have to Store This Year Heavy Yield and Rail Conges tion Expected To Make Im mediate Shipping Impossible This summer’s wheat harvest, ex pected to reach record proportions in the Bluffton area, will provide a new problem for farmers—that of finding adequate storage space for most of the grain on the farm premises. Pfc. James Amstutz Was Killed By Enemy Artillery, Chaplain Writes Fourth Of July Rodeo To Be Held At Harmon Field Again This Year Reflecting anticipation of a bumper crop, wheat on the Bluffton market dropped eight cents Wednesday morning, being quoted at $1.60 a bushel. The former price which held steady all«epria« was L68. While wheat farmers are putting their equipment into shape for har vest of what at this stage appears to be one of the best crops on record, they also are busily engaged in preparing storage facilities at home because of an anticipated congestion in grain elevators at shipping points during the harvest season. That railroad facilities will be overtaxed once the local harvest gets under way is based on the situation which developed in Kansas this year when growers were forced to dump their wheat on the ground because of a lack of freight cars to move the crop. Farmers Prepare Storage Facilities Following the widespread publici ty dealing with conditions in Kansas, local farmers are preparing for a possible repetition of that situation by getting their granaries in shape and by enlarging storage facilities to handle the expected bumper crop. Little storing ordinarily is done in this district, for most farmers haul the bulk of their crop direct to the elevator as threshing or combining is completed, thus elimin ating extra handling. This summer however, a bottle neck in shipping facilities would result in more grain being stored on farms than in many a year. Unusually favorable weather con ditions thruout the winter and spring months have boomed wheat pros pects, and many farm observers re port that the yield will be the best on record, and certainly better than average. Covered by deep snow thruout the winter, the wheat was not exposed to winds and the customary freezing and thawing which exposes roots and affects the crop. In the early spring there was plenty of moisture to give the crop an early start. Practically all fields have grown fence tall and rank, and farmers say the straw will be the heaviest in years. Harvesting machinery, which is old and already much repaired, will be taxed in handling the heavy growth. Unless weather conditions change materially the wheat harvest will be later than in several past sea sons, and very little grain will be cut before the Fourth of July. To Collect Taxes Here July 2 And 3 Deputy from the Allen county treasurer’s office will be at the Citi zens bank here for collection of real estate taxes on Monday and Tuesday, July 2 and 3. was receiving considerable artillery fire from the enemy. James was wireman for a monitor platoon and while performing his duties a shell landed near him. He was struck by a piece of shrapnel and killed in stantly. “James was laid to rest Feb. 14 in an American cemetery, Henri Chapelle No. 1 in Belgium, in a burial ceremony at which a Protest ant chaplain officiated His final resting place will forever be hallowed ground, his memory ever an inspira tion for those of us who remain to carry on. the struggle for which he so nobly gave all.” Amstutz was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Amstutz, former Bluff ton residents, now of Versailles, Ohio. Gala Events, More Spectacular Than Ever Planned For Night of Holiday Airplane Stunting, Band Con cert and Parade Will Be Additional Attractions Another Fourth of July rodeo, sur passing in attractions that of last year which resulted in Bluffton’s hargest turnout of spectators in more than a decade, will be held this summer at Harmon field on the night of the hol iday. Hore than 150 horsemen and horses from Northwestern Ohio will be feat ured in the gala show, with $200 in cash awards and premium ribbons to be awarded for skill in horsemanship events for men and women. Additional rodeo attractions will in clude a concert by the Rawson band at the field at 7:30 p. m., while at the same time an aerial circus featuring stunting airplanes xvill be put on un der the direction of Clayton Bixel, Bluffton aviation instructor. In promotion of the rodeo, a parade of horsemen will be held in the down town district Saturday night, June 30, with the Rawson band presenting con certs before and after the parade. Co-sponsors of the rodeo are the I Bluffton Saddle Horse club and the Bluffton Community Sportsmen’s club, the same organizations which present ed last year’s successful show. Half of the net proceeds will be used for the development of Buckeye Mem orial park at the Buckeye swimming lake, a project which has the support of all municipal organizations as a tribute to Bluffton area men and wom en serving with the armed forces in World War II. Last year’s rodeo, the first held in Bluffton, attracted a crow’d of more than 5,000 persons, and netted more than $2,000 which was shared by the Red Cross, the group sponsoring erec tion of an honor roll for Bluffton ser vicemen, the purchase of Schmidt’s field by the Bluffton Saddle club for riding purposes, and development of conservation and recreation facilities by the Sportsmen’s club. Entries in this year’s rodeo are open to anyone, and can be made with the Saddle Horse club. Lions Club Hears Ohio Safety Head Harry L. Sain, superintendent of the Division of Safety and Hygiene, Industrial Commission of Ohio, was the speaker at a ladies night meeting of the Bluffton Lions club Tuesday evening in the Walnut Grill. Stressing the need of more appre ciation in the world, Sain pointed out that time should be taken to ex press more appreciation in the home and that an attitude of brotherhood among mankind should motivate ap preciation for other persons’ ideas and work. New officers of the club were in stalled at the meeting, and Dr. B. W Travis, incoming president, inducted Nelson Steiner and Arthur Nonna maker as new members of the or ganization. Sgt. Richard Oberly Home From Germany Staff Sgt. Richard Oberly, son of Millard Oberly, of Cherry street, re leased from a German prison camp in the closing days of the European war, arrived home last Saturday for a 60 days furlough. Sgt. Oberly, a gunner on a Flying Fortress, was captured by the Ger mans when his bomber was forced down over Hungary while limping back to its base in Italy after having been damaged over Berlin. °ublic Affairs Board Leases Office Space Lease of a business room on Vine street in the Basinger Furniture store building as a new office for the Board of Public Affairs was approved Monday night by the municipal coun cil. The lease will run for five years, effective July 1, entailing a monthly rental of $25. Leasing of the busi ness space from Anna Basinger and others will give the Board of Public Affairs a new location when the res ignation of Edgar Hauenstein, clerk of the board for many years, be comes effective this summer. MANUAL TRAINING TEACHER RESIGNS FROM H. S. STAFF School’s Woodworking Depart ment May Be Closed For Second Year Wade A- Shank, Hired For Next Fall, Resigns to Take Post At Fostoria Developments this week indicate that Bluffton High school for the second consecutive year will be with out a manual training department, due to inability to obtain an in structor for the course. Wade A. Shank, 25, now on the Columbus Grove High school faculty, who had been hired to head Bluff ton’s manual training department next fall, has submitted his resigna tion here to accept a teaching post at Fostoria. Shank’s resignation wil come be fore the Board of Education at a special meeting next Monday night, but there is little indication that a replacement teacher can be obtained. Shank’s resignation will come be industrial arts department here at a salary of $1,900. It is assumed that a better offer was made by Fostoria, resulting in Shank’s resig nation from the Blufftoh faculty be fore he had eW1 served here as a teacher. Bluffton’s industrial arts depart ment has been closed since the end of the 1943-44 school term, after Hayden Steiner, former instructor, resigned and no successor could be found. Harry Zimmerman Dies In Defiance Funeral services were held Wed nesday afternoon at the Pleasant View United Brethren church for Harry P. Zimmerman, 36, who died at 1:30 a. m. Monday of heart dis ease at his home in Defiance. Formerly an operator of a jewelry store and watch repair shop here, Zimmerman had been conducting a similar business in Defiance. Survivors include his widow, Dor othy two children, Dale and Paula Jo, at home father, H. P. Zimmer man, Bluffton two brothers, Wayne and Oscar Zimmerman, both of Bluff ton and a sister, Mrs. Gertrude Long, Beaverdam. Zimmerman w’as a graduate of Mt. Cory High school, the Coyne Elec tric school in Chicago and a member of the St. Paul Methodist church in Defiance. Rev. Hillard Camp officiated at the rites in the Pleasant View church. Burial was in the Clymer cemetery near Bluffton. Births The following births at Bluffton hospital: Mr. and Mrs. Delmore Clouse, Bluffton, a girl, Carol Diane, Thurs day. Mr. and Mrs Isabell Vargas, of near Mt. Cory, a girl, Sunday Mr. and Mrs Carl Simon, Ada, a girl, Thursday. Mr. and Mrs. Myron Motter, a boy, Wednesday morning. 104 Attend Vacation Bible School Here Bluffton’s daily vacation Bible school opened Monday with an at tendance of 104, it was stated by Rev. Stanley Rupp, pastor of the Defenseless Mennonite church. Late registrations are expected to increase this total materially. At tendance last year was 130. Classes are held in the morning from Monday thru Friday at the Grade school building for two weeks. In charge of the school is Rev. Paul Rupp of Bradley, Ind., who di rected the school here last year. He is a brother of Rev. Stanley Rupp. BUY NUMBER 9 SLASH IN SUGAR WILL HIT HOME FRUIT CANNING ?ew Housewives in Bluffton Area Received Early 20 Pound Allotment Canning of Vegetables Now Re quiring Sugar is Expected to be Good Home canning of fruits which re quire sugar is practically out of the question this year for housewives in the Bluffton area who had not re ceived canning rations before a dras tic cut in allotments was announced last week by the OPA. Denied of all but a meagre amount of canning sugar, many households will of necessity do less canning this season than in many years, altho the government is appealing for more home canning to relieve wartime pressure on food processors. Plans for canning which require sugar had to be abandoned by house wives who will receive only five pounds of sugar per person for their household under the latest cut in canning allotments, which started at 20 pounds per person and later was cut to 15. Few Get 20 Pound Allotment An informal local canvass this week disclosed that comparatively few Bluffton households have re ceived the maximum allotment of 20 pounds of sugar per person, and more than two-thirds of the area residents still are awaiting canning sugar rations. This tends to bear out the -conten tion of local housewives that the ma jority of early allotments of sugar on the 20 and 15-pound basis went to city residents who could apply in per son to their ration boards. In contrast, residents of smaller towns and rural districts, obliged to use the more inconvenient method of applying by mail, did not get their applications in early enough to bene fit from the larger allotments. Another source of dissatisfaction was the fact that OPA announce* y meats had advised housewives lurt it make application for canning sugar until they had fruit to can, and many who complied with that re quest will receive only the minimum sugar allotment. City Residents Get Maximum, Belief Observers see this situation as one which will greatly restrict the en tire canning program, inasmuch as in the cities where maximum allot ments of sugar have been released, fruit will be scarce and high in price. In the country and small towns where fruit is plentiful and reasonable in price comparatively little sugar will be available. Canning of vegetables, however, which require little or no sugar, probably will be above normal here this year, providing the supply is adequate. Allen county had issued 50 per cent of its sugar allotment to only one-third of the prospective home canners before the last cut in ra tions was made, it was announced last week, with the result that a maximum of five pounds per person is all that can be expected by those who have not yet received their can ning sugar. The sugar future has been describ ed as dismal because ♦he sugar beet crop, which had figured heavily in the allocation schedule, has suf fered badly from adverse weather this spring. Seriously Ill Don West, 49, formerly of Bluffton and son of Fletch West, is seriously ill at Hines Veterans hospital in Chicago, according to word received here the first of the week. He has been a patient at the veterans hos pital in Chicago for some time. Rationing Calendar So that you may keep in mind the numerous important war-time ra tioning dates, the Bluffton News is publishing this weekly reminder: MEATS, BUTTER, CHEESE. CANNED MILK—Book 4 red stamps E-2 thru Z-2 good for 10 points each. E-2 thru J-2 expire June 30. PROCESSED FOODS—Book 4 blue stamp N-2 thru Z-2 and A-l thru H-l good for 10 points each. N-2 thru 8-2 expire June 30. SUGAR—Stamp 36 is now good for 5 pounds thru August 31. GASOLINE—Stamp A-16 good for 4 gallons thru Sept. 21. SHOES—Airplane stamps 1, 2 and 3 in Ration Book No. 3 good indefinitely.