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THURSDAY, FEB. 21, 1946 BUY VN1TBB •TATB4 AN» STAMM VOLUME NO. LXX 4,150 FEET OF NEW WATER LINES WILL BE LAID THIS YEAR Nearly One Mile Of New Mains Will Go Into Three Build ing Subdivisions New Extension Of Lines Will Provide Fire Protection And Water Service Installation of nearly one mile of new city water mains in three Bluff ton subdivisions where extensive post-war residential building activity is planned will e completed this spring by the Board of Public Affairs. A total of 4,150 feet of four-inch water lines will be laid to provide fire protection and water service in the three building districts, as a re sult of action taken Minday night by the municipal council in approving a $2,000 purchase of pipe proposed by the board. New water mains will be laid in the Fred Mueller Dixie highway sub division, the Romey-Kraft subdivision along the south side of Jefferson street east of the Nickel Plate rail road, and in the West Elm street subdivision west along College road and north along Huber road. New Water Lines In the Mueller Dixie highway plot, 1,700 feet of water lines will be laid from the A. C. & Y. railroad, run ning parallel to the highway north east to within 300 feet of the Allen Hancock county line road. Two new residential building projects are now under way in the subdivision and one house already is located there.. Mueller also owns the Romey Kraft subdivision where 1250 feet of new mains will be laid from the fire hydrant in front of the Allen Mc Cluer residence east to the Levi Frankhouser property at the town corporation. The line will run along the south side of the road. Three building lots in this subdivision have been sold in the last few weeks. Water lines for the new West Elm street buliding plot will start at the end of Elm street, continue 750 feet along College road to the Huber road, then 450 feet east on the Huber road to the end of the Albert Garmatter subdivision. One new house now is under construction in this area and others are said to be planned for next spring. Fire hydrants will be placed at the proper intervals along the various water, lines, according to present plans of the board. Installation of the new mains is to be started as soon as weather per mits. Masonic Father-Son Banquet On Tuesday In observance of George Washing ton’s birthday, the Bluffton Masonic lodge will hold a Father-Son banquet in the lodge rooms at 6 p. m. next Tuesday night. Motion pictures taken by Stanley Basinger, a past master of the lodge, during the time he was in Europe with the armed forces will be shown as one of the features of the pro gram. Special harmonica selections will be played by Robert Potts. Ber trand Swank is master of the lodge and will preside. The dinner will be served by the Order of the Eastern Star. Scouts To Gather Paper On Saturday Bluffton Boy Scouts Troop 56 will gather waste paper, Saturday. News papers and magazines should be bundled and placed on front porches by noon. In New Locations Berdell Huber and family have moved on the farm of his grand mother, Mrs. Sarah Niswander, south of Bluffton. Mrs. Niswander who held a public sale last week is making her home with her daugh ter, Mrs. Russell Huber. Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Rice have moved into the Chamberlain apart ment building at 123 Cherry street. Mr. and Mrs. Asa Boedecker jsouth of Bluffton have moved onto the ad joining farm of the late John' Boe decker. John Everett has moved from the Isaac Amstutz farm near the Phil lips school to the former Abe Balm er farm Ralph Hall west of Beaverdam will move on the farm vacated by Everett. Paul Rusmisel who occupied the former Balmer farm has moved to a farm which he purchased near Columbus Grove Schools To Close On Washington's Birthday Bluffton public schools will be closed Friday in observance of George Washington’s birthday, but classes will be continued on schedule at Bluffton college. Windows at the Bluffton post of fice will he closed thruout the day, and there will be no mail delivery on town or rural routes. The Citizens National Bank also will be closed. Business and industrial activity of the town otherwise, however, will continue as usual. CENTRAL DISTRICT MENNONITES NOW IN GENERAL GROUP Affiliation of Central Mennonite Conference with General Con ference Announced Bluffton Churchmen Attending General Conference Meet ing in Kansas The Central Conference of Menno nites, with some 20 churches in Illi nois and other midwestern states, is affiliating with the larger General Mennonite conference, it was an nounced this week as a group of Bluffton ministers and laymen lead ers in the General conference left for Newton, Kansas, to attend the annual meeting of boards and stand ing committees of that group. Rev. J. N. Smucker, pastor of the Bluffton First Mennonite church, president of the General Conference, is serving as chairman of thb meet ing which opened at Newton, Tuesday for a three-day session. Five others from Bluffton, who serve as members of General confer ence committees, also are in Kansas for the annual session. Bluffton People At Meeting In this group are Dr. C. H. Smith, of the conference board of publica tions Dr. I. W. Bauman, of the board of relief activities G. T. Sold ner, of the church unity committee Dr. L. L. Ramseyer, of the board of education, and Genevieve Buhler, re presenting young peoples organiza tions. Dr. J. S. Schultz of the pro gram committee was unable to at tend. Final details of affiliating the Cen tral Committee with the General Conference will be completed at the session, in addition to handling the annual routine matters of business. Rev. Harry Yoder, of Carlock, Ill., president of the Central Conference, will be the only representative of his group in completing the affiliation. A Bluffton college graduate in the class of 1932, Rev. Yoder is return ing to Bluffton this spring to serve as field secretary for the college. Seventh Affiliated Group The Central Conference will retain its identity as a district unit under the affiliation procedure. It will be the seventh group to be so affiliated with the General Conference, which consists of an amalgamation of what formerly were smaller independent Mennonite conferences. Other districts now in the General Conference include the Eastern, Mid dle, Western, Northern, Pacific, and the newest addition, the Central. Prior to the Central district affilia tion move, the General Conference re presented approximately 200 churches with an aggregate membership of 50,000. To this membership will be added 22 Central District churches with a membership of 3,3300. These churches are in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Kansas and Iowa. Affiliation of the Central district with the General Conference has been under consideration for the past 10 years. At its triennial meeting last summer, the General Conference vot ed to accept affiliation of the smaller group, and the annual Central Con ference meeting in August approved the move. The matter then was referred to each of the member churches of the Central District, which voted unan imously for affiliation. Central dis trict churches previously had been affiliated with General Conference churches in the support of Bluffton college. In addition to its regular church activities, the Central Conference of Mennonites operates a hospital at Bloomington, Ill., and an Old Peoples’ Home in Meadows, Ill. As a general rule you pay a high price for the thing you get for nothing. —Bert Estabrook. XHE BLUF S' (, A NEWSPAPER DEVOTED TO THE Community Progress Assn. Charts Harmon Field Recreation Needs Expanded Summer Program Is Needed At Bluffton Recre ation Center Rev. V. C. Oppermann Named President of New Progress Association Plans to revitalize Harmon Field’s summer recreation program were considered at an organization meet ing of the executive committee of the Bluffton Community Progress association, last Thursday night in the Bluffton High school building. Named to head the executive unit representing all interests and acti vities of the community in a pro gram of continuing progress was Rev. V. C. Oppermann, pastor of the Reformed churches. As president of the Community Progress association, he will be serv ing in the same capacity he held on the Citizens’ Advisory committee or ganized last fall to sponsor renewal of the three-mill school levy for Bluffton schools. Need of an expanded summer re creation program at Harmon field, similar to that which marked activ ity back in the days when Bluffton won awards from the Harmon found ation for its accomplishments, was the major project discussed at last Thursday’s session. Recreation Needs To attain those ends, a full-time recreational director would be re quired, new playground equipment, is needed, and the playground should be moved to a spot adjacent to Col lege avenue, according to proposals presented at the session. In recent years, the only funds made avail able for Harmon field’s summer program have been for maintenance of the grounds. With organization Of the executive committee completed, the Progress association now is ready to receive recommendations of projects that may help the community. These can be presented to any member of the executive committee. Other officers w’ho will assist Rev. Oppermann include Donavin B. Con rad, vice-president Arden R. Baker, secretary and Mrs. J. S. Steiner, treasurer. Those on the executive committee and the groups they represent are: Rev. V. C. Oppermann, church Supt. Ralph Lanham, education Dr. M. D. Soash, health Donavin B. Conrad, industries A. C. Burcky, financial David Stearns, youth groups Mrs. J. S. Steiner, clubs and societies Arden R. Baker, gov ernment Armin Hauenstein, busi ness men Edwin Badertscher, labor and Henry Huber, rural. Lions Charter Night Observed On Tuesday Twelfth Charter anniversary of the Bluffton Lions club was celebrat ed Tuesday evening in the Walnut Grill, with Ed J. Ward, of Lima, delivering the address of the even ing. Other features on the program in cluded the induction of new members by Ray Evans, Findlay, and the pre sentation of awards by Lee H. Gil lespie, Arlington. Special entertain ment was provided by a trio made up of Jean Ann Steinman, Dean Niswander and Esther Bohn. Group singing w*as led by Prof. Russell Lantz. Dr. B. W. Travis, president of the club was chairman of the meeting. 450 Blankets Are Gathered For Europe A truck load of blankets and com forters collected by the Bluffton First Mennonite church was started on its way toward w’ar-torn Euro pean countries Monday. In the collection, residents of the Bluffton-Pandora community donat ed 450 blankets and comforters. Money to be used in purchasing meat and milk products for overseas relief distribution is being collected this week at the Lape dry goods store and the lutzi insurance office. Births The following births at Bluffton hospital: Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Balmer, Bluffton, a boy, Alan Gene, Friday. Mr. and Mrs. Orine Johnson, Mt. Cory, a girl, Barbara Lynn, Satur day. Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Roy, Leipsic, a boy, Kenneth Wayne, Sunday. Mr and Mrs. Charles' Hanlin, -Continental, a girl, Wednesday morning. .- s. THE BLUFFTON NEWS, BLUFFTON, OHIO BLUFFTON, OHIO THURSDAY, FEB. 21, 1946 TOWN BUYS $375 MACHINE Rl CLEAN BLOCKED fSEWERS Sewer And Drain Cleaning Ser vice Now Available To Property Owners Using Machine Makes It Un necessary to Dig up Lawns And Streets Residential sewer and drain clean ing service will be p*-\ id_-d for p,luff ton home owners ill the future, as the result of the pUtirt.:- an elec trically powered sew-, c,caning ma chine made Monday night by the municipal council. The $375 outfit added to the town’s service department wv' thru dirt, tree roots and other obstructions that might cause blocked sewers, dnd will make it unnecessary to dig up lawns and streets except wher tile is brok en it was pointed our Under the expanded program of municipal servicttO. sewer cleaning will be available to property owners at a fixed charge of $10 for the machine and a mirun inn charge of $1 per hour for tack of the two operators. Lee Coon, town service director, will be inf-dia.-e .f oper ation of the unit. Tested Monday Here on approval brf the Mon day night purchaseracti.i!-., the ma chine was used Monday afternoon to clean a blocked town sewer at the Main and Cherry street intersection. It cut thru an obstruction of tree roots to open the sewer. With the electrically powered sew er and drain cleaning outfit, the town also received 120 feet of flexible cable, four augers and three root cutters. The machine is similar to those used in larger cities and is made by the Kollman Mfg. Co., of Erie, Pa. It was bought thru the Crane Co. Alley Vacated On Residents' Petition An unopened all4y in the A. G. Kibler addition, adjoining a building site fronting South Lawn avenue purchased recently by Don Patter son from the Beiderman heirs, was vacated Monday night by action of the municipal council upon petition of affected Signers of the petitions were Am bert Basinger, Mrs. Anna Gromann, Don Patterson and Harold Balmer, who own lots adjoining the unused alley right-of-way. To Open Furniture Store In Carey Jerome Bernard of Bluffton in partnership with his brother Leo of Kenton will open a furniture store in Carey this spring, it was an nounced the first of the week. The Bernard family of this place expect to move to Carey as soon as housing accommodations can be ob tained. Mrs. Bernard is the former Marcella Steiner and the family are making their home with her mother, Mrs. Moses Steiner of West Kibler street. The Bernard brothers were in the furniture business in Wellington, Ohio, until war canditions forced them to dispose of their holdings. Later Jerome was employed at the Triplett plant here. Laymen To Conduct Church Service Here Laymen will have charge of cerv ices at the Methodist church Sunday morning in observance of ‘he de nomination’s laymen’s day o"-m. Harold Younkman, prer-Hen1- of the men’s brotherhood will be in charge and speakers will be Ralph Lanham and Nelson Steiner. Others taking part in the program are A. J. B. Longsdorf, James West, Jesse Anderson and Stewart Berryhill. Special music will be furnished by a men’s quartet. Lima Speaker At Union Church Meet Speaking on “The History and Beliefs of the Baptist Church,” Rev. Harold F. Stoddard, of Lima, will •occupy the pulpit at a union church service in the First Mennonite church Sunday night at 7:30 o’clock. Rev. Stoddard’s address is a con tinuation of last year’s series deal ing with the background and beliefs of the various Christian denomina tions. Devotional services for, the evening meeting will be conducted by the Bluffton High school Girl Reserves organisation. TON NEWS STS OF BLUFFTON AND VICINITY Roaring thru Bluffton with near tornado proportions, a gale last Wednesday night ripped shingles off roofs, blew in windows and took many limbs off trees. The wind subsided Thursday morn ing only to be followed with the winter’s worst gale of blinding snow beginning shortly after dusk Thurs day night and continuing until the following morning. Highway travel was hazardous Thursday night as gusts of wind driven snow obscured highway marks. The storm was accompanied by a sharp drop in temperature with the mercury falling to six degrees above zero. Principal damage caused by Wed nesday night’s gale was sustained by roofs and repairmen were busy Thursday and Friday patching spots where shingles were ripped loose. Also damaged were two airplanes in a hangar on the W. G. Carr farm four miles north of Bluffton in Riley township when the gale overturned and wrecked the building. S. F. Pannabecker Now in Relief Work Describes Trip Into War-Torn Area Journey Made on Railroad Pow ered by Converted Chev rolet Truck Order gradually is coming out of the chaos that war left in China, according to a letter from S. F. Pannabecker, who left here to return to China to assist in organizing post-war relief for the Central Men nonite committee. Mrs. Sylvia Pannabecker, his wife, who was engaged in missionary pur suits with her husband in China prior to the outbreak of the war, re mained here with their children. Pannabecker’s letters describing his railroad trip from Chungking to Chengchow in country formerly held by the Japanese is as follows: “The trains are very undepend able. The locomotives burn wood most of the way up and have to stop for firing, etc. Sometimes they sit at stations for hours. You should see the Special train we came on. The engine is a truck having a regular Chevrolet engine running on alcohol. It doesn’t have as much power as if they fed it gasoline but it runs. “The truck with flanged iron wheels substituted for the rubber tires hauls three cars. The cars are light weight goods wagons and not much bigger than a good sized truck. A car seats about forty pas sengers five on a seat and eight benches in the car. When every body sits down the car is just nicely filled. “Passengers are allowed only 15 kilograms of baggage (33 pounds). However, it is not weighed and everyone including ourselves takes as much as they can drag in. We probably had the most, but tied it on the back platform. “We were crowded like sardines, especially when new passengers crawled in thru the window into a car that was already full. They had to squeeze in between benches and stand up. “Chengchow appears familiar though large sections are in ruins. The vicinity of the station is bombed flat. Some of the ruins are now being cleared up and gradually order is coming out of chaos. Business seems quite active on the street, rickshaws are plentiful, and have pneumatic tires which is not true in Chungking and Hankow.” Income Tax Men Coming Thursday Deputies from the office of the federal collector of internal revenue will be at the mayor’s office Thurs day to assist income taxpayers in making out their returns. They will also be here again on Wednesday, March 6. Gospel Team Coming For Sunday Services Gale Wrecks Airplane Hangar Near Bluffton And Damages Two Planes Order Gradually Supplanting Chaos Of War In China, Bluffton Man Writes A gospel team from the Ft. Wayne Bible school will provide singing and speaking features at the Missionary church Sunday morning and evening. Rev. J. A. Ringenberg, president of the Missionary church association will be the principal speaker at the evening service. One of the planes is owned by Carr’s son, David Carr, recently re leased from Army service and the other is the property of Lehr Green of Mt. Cory. Roth planes are now undergoing repairs. Many householders reported minor roof damage, with the most severe damage suffered at the First Menno nite church where approximately 50 slate were torn loose. Several large windows were broken in the heavy windstorm, and in a few cases some damage resulted from rain beating into homes thru the broken windows. Bluffton fared much better in the windstorm than any of the surround ing territory. Heavier damage was reported in Ada, Lima, Findlay and Ottawa, and the wind left a trail of debris in its wake thruout all of northern Ohio. At its height, the wind reached a velocity of 80 miles an hour, accord ing to official weather reports from the Lake Erie region. MARKET IS GONE FOR HORSE DRAWN FARM EQUIPMENT Despite Shortage of Tractor Powered Machinery No De mand for Other Farming with Horses is Slower and Lack of Farm Help Re quires Power Use Despite the critical shortage of farm machienry, horse-drawn farm ing equipment is going begging at public sales in the Bluffton district this spring. This situation, farm observers say, is a reflection of the prevailing short age of farm help and high wages commanded by farm hands, for the use of power operated implements re presents the farmer’s ony chance of handling the heav schedule of work which faces him. Lack of demand for horse-drawn machinery was evidenced last week at one of the few public sales being held this winter when a horse-powered cul tivator in good condition sold for $2.50. A cultivator of the same type would sell new for $70. Other equipment designed for use with horses is being Sold at compar able prices, at the same time that tractor operated machinery is virtual ly unobtainabe. No Demand for Horse Equipment Despite the shortage of tractor drawn implements, the result of a machinery shortage and the fact that farmers general'y are not disposing of farming tools, apparently no one wants to return to horse-drawn im plements which mean increased man hours in use. The farmer who is willing to handle his crops as they did in grandfather’s day, relying on horses for his motive power, will find it comparatively easy to set himself up in farming, at a cost that would be comparable to what it was several generations ago. Based on prices now being paid for horse-drawn machinery, a total outlay of approximately $600 wou'd permit a start in farming. This would include a good team at $100 grain binder, $25 farm wagon, $10 harness, $10 breaking plow, $5, and mowing ma chine, $90. In the opinion of farmers there is no prospect of a reversal of the pre sent trend away from farming with horses unless the farm labor supply becomes more plentiful at lower prices. Only in this way would it prove profitable to use a slower me thod of farming, with less capital in vestment. Lt. Donald Wenger Released By Navy Lt. (j. g.) Donald D. Wenger, of the United States Navy, received his discharge last week at the Great Lakes, III., separation center. Lt. Wenger had served on a mine sweeper in Japanese w’aters, and w*as off Okinawa during the heaviest fighting there last summer. He is here with his wife and two children at the home of Mr. and Mrs. C. F. Miller, South Main street, his wife’s parents. Lt. Wenger is the son of Mr. sod Mrs. Hiram Wenger. PAGE THREE BUY uwrrB» •tatbb NUMBER 44 DIXIE HIGHWAY TO BE IMPROVED HERE IN STATE PROGRAM Route Will Be Re-Surfaced from Bluffton to Gratz Crossing Curve This Summer Estimated Cost of Project Set At $37,000 Improvements Also for Route 30 Resurfacing of 2.12 miles of the Dixie highway, starting at the Bluff toi city limits and continuing south to the Gratz crossing, will be includ 'd in a $1,704,989 summer program of the state highway department in this area. Asphaltic concrete will be used in improving the stretch of highway at an estimated cost of $37,000, accord ing to officials of the divisional of fice of the highway department. Re-surfacing will continue from Bluffton to the new strip of highway built at the Gratz crossing curve two years ago. An improvement on the Lincoln highway west of Cairo also was an nounced, with 4.6 miles of road to be widened and surfaced. An asphal tic concrete surface will be added from Cairo to Gomer in the program, with cost estimated at $96,000. AH told there will be four improve ment pr era" s in Allen county at an aggregate cost of $166,000. Mrs. Mae Matthews Funeral On Tuesday Funeral services for Mrs. Mae Matthews, 75, were held at the Paul Diller funeral home Tuesday after noon with Rev. V. C. Oppermann of the Reformed church officiating. Mrs. Matthews who resided at the home of her daughter, Mrs. W. H. Gratz of Lawn avenue died early Monday morning at Bluffton hos pital. Death due to a heart attack followed a fall last Wednesday in which she sustained a broken hip. Mrs. Matthews, a seamstress and furrier, was born in Potterville, Michigan, Oct. 7, 1870, the daughter of Delos and Salome Griffin. She was married to Burdette Matthews who died in 1897. She was a member of the Baptist church in Charlotte, Mich., and fol lowing services here Tuesday the body was taken to that city where services were held Wednesday after noon at the Pray funeral home. In terment was in Maple Hill cemetery, Charlotte. In addition to Mrs. Gratz she is survived by another daughter, Mrs. Ivola Sansome of Detroit and a brother, Owen Griffin of Charlotte. Business Men's Unit Will Hear Lima Man L. W. Mannon, executive secretary of the Lima Better Business Bureau, will be the speaker at a meeting of the Bluffton Business Men’s associa tion at 8 p. m. next Wednesday in the Bluffton High school building. Mannon will outline at the meet ing what business associations can do for community progress. The speaker has been with the Lima bureau far more than a decade. President Silas Diller, of the local association, will name executive committees of the group at the meet ing Wednesday. With Service Men 1st Lt. Ernest Bigelow, Army chaplain stationed at Camp Camp bell, Ky., will leave this week for Camp Atterbury, Ind., to receive his discharge. Lt. Bigelow is pastor of the Bluffton and Rockport Presby terian churches and on leave of absence for military service. Whether he will arrive here in time to conduct services next Sunday morning could not be determined Wednesday. His wife and little son Bruce have been with him since his return from over seas service in Europe last summer. T/Sgt. Herbert Oyer who served with occupation forces in Japan ar rived in Seattle, Wash., Monday and is enroute to Camp Atterbury to receive his Army discharge, it was learned Tuesday. He spent two and one-half years in service. S/Sgt. Marvin Hilty, son of Mr. and Mrs. Philip Hilty has been dis charged recently from the Army at Camp Beale, Calif., after six months* service in Okinawa. He is now at home with his wife and small daugh ter in Redding, Calif. Sgt. Gordon Hilty, another son of Mr.'.und Mrs. Philip Hilty who re cently received his Army discharge is making his home in Denver. Cotat