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BLUFFTON A Good Place to Live VOLUME LXXI BLUFFTON SCHOOLS HAVE ENROLLMENT OF 486 THIS FALL Student Registration Drops For Ninth Time in Last Ten Years. Grade School Total is Up With 247 High School Has 239 in Six Classes. After reversing a downward trend in enrollment last fall for the first time in nine years, Bluffton public school registration dropped off again this year, with five fewer pupils en rolled than during the 1945-46 term. Marking the ninth year out of 10 that enrollment has dropped from that of the preceding fall, Bluffton grade and high schools had an ag gregate of 486 students on Tuesday, the opening day of school. Last fall’s first-day registration was 491. Principal decrease in enrollment this year is in junior and senior high school classes, with 10 fewer students than last fall’s mark of ■249. In the first six grades, enrollment went up for the second consecutive year, with 247 registered this fall as ■compared with 242 in 1945. Another drop in the upper grades may be expected next fall, for a class of 56 seniors will graduate this year and the sixth grade, which will advance to junior high school in an other year, has only 41. Bluffton’s downward trend in en rollment started in the fall of 1937 when the public schools had 669 stu dents. This represents 183 pupils more than the schools have this fall. Top enrollment in the grade school this fall is in the third grade where there are 50 students. In the second grade there are 49, but first grade enrollment this fall dropped to 32, after standing at 42 in 1945. In the high school this year the largest enrollment is in the senior class with 56 pupils. Of these four are Ami land and Kenneth Finton. School enrollment totals vfrere an nounced Tuesday afternoon by Supt. Ralph Lanham as follows: Grade School ■Grade Teacher Total 1 Meredith Stepleton 32 2 Mrs. Clayton Murray and Mrs. Dwight Spayth 49 3 Minerva Hilty and Mrs. Clayton Murray 50 4 Robert Ewing 40 5 Mrs. Adella Oyer 35 6 Theola Steiner i 41 Total 247 High School Grade Total 7 32 8 28 Freshman 47 Sophomore 28 Junior 48 Senior 56 Total 239 Two From Here Get OSU Master Degrees Two Bluffton college graduates received masters degrees in a class of 530 graduated Friday at Ohio .State university, Columbus. R. Emerson Niswander was grad uated with a degree in master of science, and Robert Schaeublin re ceived a master of arts degree. Both nre graduates of Bluffton High school. Niswander will continue his stud ies at the university this fall where he will also be assistant in the zoology department. He is a mem ber of Gamma Sigma Delta honor scholastic society. Schaeublin has accepted a posi tion as educational program super visor with the Veterans administra tion at Dearborn, Michigan. Former College Students Married Wedding of Paul Sauder and Miss Esther Habegger, former Bluff ton college students, took place in the Mennonite church in Grabill, Ind., Sunday of last week. Sauder, recently discharged from the Marine corps after active service in the Pacific area will be associated with his father in the hatchery business. The couple will live in Grabill. Those from Bluffton attending the wedding included Mr. and Mrs. Silas Diller, Mr. and Mrs. Gene Benroth, Mr. and Mrs. Mark Niswander, Mr. and Mrs. Ulrich Amstutz, Miss M’Della Moon and Mrs. L. L. Ram seyer. Bluffton’s coldest Labor Day on record brought frost and a low tem perature of 36 on Tuesday morning, as August’s unseasonable cool weath er continued into September. No frost damage was reported in the Bluffton area because of the extreme dryness of ground and vege tation, but farmers are expressing fears that their corn crop, already late, may be materially reduced un less a turn to warmer weather is experienced soon. A killing frost any time during the first three weeks of September can ruin many fields, and those who fear frost damage in a continuation of cool weather experienced here for nearly a month are hoping that forecasts of a warm wave the latter part of this week will bring higher temperatures. Respite from mosquitoes, however, has been one favorable result of continued low thermometer readings, but with creeks full of wrigglers (mosquito larvae) infestation can be the heaviest of the summer w’ith a few days of warm weather. Registration To Add Inter national Flavor To Campus Atmosphere Three From Holland Others From Syria, Italy, Mexico, Puerto Rico Adding an international flavor to the campus atmosphere, Bluffton col lege will include in its student body this fall 12 men and women from six foreign countries. Enroute to Bluffton for the open ing of the school term next week are three students from Holland, two from Puerto Rico, one from Syria, one from Mexico, one from Italy, and four from Canada. They will be among 150 new stu dents expected on the campus this fall, approximately 130 of whom will be freshmen. Enrollment from this country will bring students from 12 states, according to pre-registra tion figures. From Holland Bluffton will have Anetta de Graaf, 24, of Haarlem, Pieter Verhulst, 21, of Hilversum, (Continued on page 8) Drivers9 Licenses Go On Sale Monday Automobile drivers’ licenses, re newal of which js required by mid night Sept. 30, will go on sale in Bluffton next Monday at Montgom ery’s News Stand. To receive a 1947 license, a 1946 permit must be presented. Fee for a regular operator’s license remains 40 cents. Chauffeur’s license costs 90 cents. Applicants for 1947 licenses who do not have a 1946 permit must ob tain a temporary instruction permit and present himself to the State Highway patrol for examination. Chas. Hankish Sails Enroute To Syria Charles Hankish w*ho left early last week on a trip to his home town in Syria sailed Friday from New York, according to word re ceived by his family here. Hankish is making the trip with a party of three other men from Toledo. Bluffton Native Dies In Canada Farmers Fear For Corn Prospects As Continued Cool Weather Brings Frost 12 Students From Foreign Lands To Be On Bluffton Campus This Fall Will H. Steiner, 70, Bluffton na tive who for the past 33 years has been a farmer residing near Strat ford, Ontario, Canada, died at his home there Tuesday morning. His death followed a two months’ illness. He was born in Riley township, the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. John J. Steiner and moved to Can ada in 1913. Surviving are four daughters, Mrs. Mabel Weaver, Ft. Colbourne, Ontario Mrs. Odulla Roth and Mrs. Aletha Cook, Gadshill, Ont., and Miss Alice Steiner at home. Brothers and sisters surviving are Clarence Steiner and Mrs. Arthur Miller, Bluffton Harvey Steiner, Kenmore, N. Y., and Mrs. Frank Weaver, Port Colbourne, Ontario. Mr. and Mrs. Steiner, Mr. and Mrs. Miller and Miss Sylvia Bieder man of Bluffton will attend funeral services to be held at Stratford, Thursday afternoon. Interment will be at that place. Births The following births at Bluffton hospital: Mr. and Mrs. Harold Balmer, Bluffton, a girl, Beth Anita, Wed nesday morning. Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Dunlap, Beaverdam, a boy, Tuesday. Mr. and Mrs. Weldon Deppler, Bluffton, a girl, Shirley Elaine, Monday. Mr. and Mrs, Francis Devier, Bluffton, a girl, Monday. Mr. and Mrs. Clifton Bame, Je nera, a boy, Laverne Ray, Sunday. Mr. and Mrs. Howard Edinger, Bluffton, a girl, Jean Ann, Satur day. Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Steinman, Mt. Cory, a boy, Allen Leroy, Fri day. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Emans, Bluffton, a boy, Gregory Dean, Thursday. Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Bame, Wil liamstown, a girl, Linda Jeanne, last Wednesday. Visitors Here In Auto Crash Enroute Home Enroute by auto to their home in Virginia after visiting here, a party of relatives of Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Wenger and Roland Flythe of Spring street was involved in a traffic ac cident near Wooster, Thursday noon. Members of the party were Mr. and Mrs. Russell Flythe and child ren Compton, Sarah, Iris and Bar bara of Hilton Village, Va., and Lane Hubbard, a nephew, of Nor folk, Va. The accident occurred when their automobile collided with a cattle truck. The automobile was badly damaged. Russell Flythe, driver of the car suffered some chest injuries. Other occupants escaped with minor bruises. Mr. and Mrs. Wenger drove to Wooster, Friday and brought them back to Bluffton from where they left by train Saturday for their home. Mr. Flythe is a son of Rol and Flythe and a brother of Mrs. Wenger of this place. New Sugar Stamp Valid This Week A new sugar stamp, spare stamp No. 51 in Ration Book IV, was vali dated Sunday for the purchase of five pounds of sugar thru Decem ber 31 of this year. At the same time, OPA announced that the life of the preceding stamp, No. 49, had been extended to Sep tember 30 because of inability to provide adequate sugar to cash ra tions during the period that was to have closed on August 31. Spare Stamps Nine and Ten, al lotted for canning sugar, each are good thru October 31 for five pounds of canning sugar. Leave For Schools Miss Ruth Steiner has left for Cleveland Heights to resume her position as librarian in the high school. Miss Luella Luginbuhl will leave this week for Cincinnati to resume her studies in ministerial-secretarial work at Cincinnati Bible seminary. Miss Rita Hankish has resumed her duties as instructor in music in the Whittier school in Lima. Miss Dorothy Schumacher left the first of the week for Rochester, Mich., where she is instructor in the high school. Miss Theda Hankish has returned to Glandorf where she is instructor in the schools. Miss Marceile Steiner will contin use this year as instructor in Salem high school near Upper Sandusky. Earl D. Luginbuhl who has been spending the past two weeks with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Gideon Luginbuhl of West Elm street will leave for Cincinnati this week where he is a student in Cincinnati Bible seminary. Miss Ruth Hankish has left for Cridersville where she has accepted a position as instructor in the schools. Scouts To Gather Waste Paper Here Bluffton Boy Scout troop No. 82 will gather waste paper Saturday. Newspapers and magazines in bun dles on the front porch will be col lected by the Scouts in the after noon. rHE BLUFFTON NEWS A NEWSPAPER DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF BLUFFTON AND VICINITY’ BLUFFTON, OHIO THURSDAY, SEPT. 5, 1946 ... .... ........ OFFICES OF THREE FIRMS RANSACKED ON TUESDAY NIGHT Fingerprint Experts Here Wed nesday Busy Obtaining Clues. Loot Obtained is Small Work of Juveniles, Authorities Aver. Finger print experts from the Al len county sheriff’ll office were in Bluffton, Wednesday for the purpose of obtaining clues to identify per petrators who broke into three Bluff ton establishments Tuesday night. Places entered were the Bluffton Milling company, the Farmers Grain company and the Steinman Lumber company, all located on Cherry East Cherry street near the Nickel Plate railroad. Offices of all three firms were ran sacked and contents of drawers scat tered over the floor. Loot obtained by the robbers was small, consisting of the contents of chewing gum and candy vending machines in offices of the Milling company and the Farmers Grain company and a tan wool jacket belonging to Miss Emma Dickman employed in the office of the Stein man company. I------------------------------------------------ Enter at Rear Window Entrance to the Milling company’s building was obtained by smashing a rear window and forcing the inner door leading to the office. At the Farmers Grain company a rear door was pried open and en trance to the Steinman building was thru a rear window. The robbery was discovered when the places opened for business Wed nesday morning. There was no evi dence that safes of the three firms had been tampered with. Authori ties here attributed the depredations to juveniles. i Return From Three Months In Canada Prof. John Klassen of Bluffton college together v Mrs. Klassen and two children Anita and Karl of South Jackson street have returned from three months spent in Can ada wherp they were sent by the Home Mission board of the Men nonite General conference to visit Mennonite settlements during the past summer. Most of the time they were in the provinces of Ontarion and Saskatoon where colonies of native Russian Mennonites reside. Mr. and Mrs. Klassen are also of that nationality. During their absence their home here was occupied by Carl Lehman and family. Mr. Lehman, business manager of the college, recently pur chased the Mrs. W. F. lutzi prop erty on Grove street where he and his family moved the past week. Thursday Afternoon Closing Continues Bluffton stores which were closed on Thursday afternoon during the past summer will continue the half day closing for the coming fall and winter season, it was announced the first of the week by officers of the Bluffton Business Men’s association. Couple Is Wed In Kentucky Ceremony Miss Jeannine Stewart, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Madison Stewart of Orange township, became the bride of Floyd Hartman, son of Mr. and Mrs. Purl Hartman of near Bluffton in a ceremony at Gretnup, Ky., last Thursday. Rev. W. H. Muncy of the Metho dist church of that place officiated land attendants were Mr. and Mrs. Maurice McClish. The bride wore a white dress with black accessories. Mr. and Mrs. Hartman will live east of Bluffton where he is en gaged in farming. Flower Show At Pandora Saturday The Pandora Garden club will hold a flower show and bazaar at Pan dora high school Saturday from 2 to 10 p. m. Dinner table arrange ments will be judged and summer miniatures and winter bouquets also will ‘be on display. Admission free. The public is invited. With Service Men Cpl. Robert Poe who has been in Yokahama, Japan, for the past year is enroute home, according to a cablegram received by his wife, Mrs. Frances Jean Poe of Route 2, Bluffton. The Page Dairy Company’s Bluff ton plant is served by a fleet of 21 trucks covering an area within a 40-mile radius of Bluffton, Harry Turner, manager of thep lant, told members of the Lions club at a din ner meeting Tuesday night in the Walnut Grill. In addition, the local plant re ceives 50,000 pounds of milk daily from a receiving station at Bellefon taine, to further boost its supply of the raw product. Powder and condensed milk are processed in the Bluffton plant, Turner said. One barrel of con densed milk is equal to two tons of whole milk, and 100 pounds of powd er represents 1,050 pounds of the liquid, he pointed out Summer Projects Closing This Week After Notably Success ful Season Plans for Winter Season of Activities are Outlined by Committee With an extensive program of successful summer achievement near ing completion, the Bluffton recrea tion committee sponsored by the Business Men’s association is point ing up plans for winter activities of varied scope for young and old alike. After a decade of neglect, Bluff-1 ton’s summer recreation program was revitalized this year under di rection of the committee, and much of the enthusiasm of bygone years when the town annually won prizes for its activities was recaptured in three months of intensified work. Among the milestones passed on the “comeback trail” were establish ment of a full-time recreational di rector at Harmon field putting back into condition three abandoned clay tennis courts at the field re-sodding the badly worn central portion of the football gridiron and hard-sur facing the playground at the grade school building, and the apron under the stadium. Many Children 21 Trucks Cover 40 Mile Radius Daily To Supply Bluffton Plant With'Milk Recreation Program Be Revamped And Continued This Winter at Field Under the direction of High School Coach Kent Cotterman, Har mon field was a beehive of activity during the summer. Registered for playground activity were 95 child ren, and the only drawback to the well-rounded program was the fact that new playground equipment for tots could not be delivered for the summer months. Daily average at tendance was about 75. The playground will be established early next spring, however, with its location moved from near the rail road, to a site adjacent to College avenue, west of the stadium. Softball play recaptured in a large measure its popularity of the “twenties,” with 12 teams competing in three leagues. There were 60 players in a midget league 60 in the junior league and 75 in the senior league at the field during the sum mer. Hard Surfacing Projects A stone chip-asphalt surface on the grade school grounds will pro vide a playground suitable for use in inclement weather the year around, and hard surfacing the area under and in front of the stadium is an improvement long needed. Softball play on a diamond in front of the stadium had wreaked havoc with the football field over the last several years, but re-sod ding completed by the committee last week will give Bluffton one of the best playing fields in this part of the state for the approaching sea son. Planned for the winter are activi ties embracing use of the college and high school gymnasiums for basket ball and volley ball leagues. Sug gestions for a recreation center for youths are being studied and a rol ler skating project also is under consideration. Flooding a part of Harmon field for ice skating is an other project on the program of proposed winter activity. Former Bluffton Man Is Married Wedding of Edgar Flack, form erly of Bluffton and Mrs. Mary Pin nicks of Fredericksburg took place in the latter city, Saturday, accord ing to an announcement made by the couple who visited at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Lora of South Main street, Tuesday afternoon. Mr.’ Flack roomed at the Lora home for four years while he was employed on the Nickel Plate rail road section here. In a move to assure the market ing of dean milk, rather than “cleaned” milk, the dairy company now is conducting an extensive edu cational program among its farm suppliers. Manager of the Bluffton plant or the last 12 years, Turner said he has seen a continuing improve ment in the business volume handled by the local establishment. Prin cipal product of the company is its ice cream output with a goal of 5,000,000 gallons a year expected to be attained before long. Importance of dairy operations is the fact that milk is nature’s com plete food and man has never im proved on its value to the human race, Turner said. Of Past Summer To Ropp Triplett And Mary E. Cassel Wed Wedding of Ropp Triplett, young er son of Mr. and Mrs. R. L. Trip lett of Campus Drive and Miss Mary Emma Cassel, daughter of Rev. and Mrs. Joseph Cassel of Fairview Village, Pennsylvania, took place in the Church of the Brethren at Fairview Village, Sunday after noon at 3 o’clock. The custom of open church was observed. Rev. Frank Cassel of Lancaster, Pa., brother of the bride officiated in a single ring ceremony before a background of ferns, palms and lilies. Miss Bertha DeGray, New York city harpist and friend of the bride played the musical prelude and also the Lohengrin wedding march for entrance and exit of the bridal party. The bride wore a white satin dress with long pointed sleeves. The neck line was of inlaid marquisette with lace trim and her floor length veil was trimmed with lace. She car ried a shower bouquet of roses and i white delphiniums. Miss Katherine Cassel, maid of honor and sister of the bride wore an aqua taffeta dress with sweet heart neckline and three-quarter i length sleeves. Her bouquet was yel low roses. Miss Barbara Jean Triplett, bridesmaid and sister of the bride groom wore a peach taffeta dress fashioned similar to that of the maid of honor and carried a bouquet of pink roses. Morris Triplett, brother of the bridegroom was best man and ush ers were Warren Weise of Philadel phia, college friend of the bride groom and Paul Cassel, brother of the bride. Men of the wedding party wore white rose boutonnieres. Following the ceremony a recep tion was held at the home of the bride after which the couple left on a ten days’ wedding trip motoring thru the Adirondack mountain re gion. On their return they will live at the Triplett farm north west of Bluffton. The bride was graduated in 1943 from the University of Cincinnati School of Nursing. Following her graduation she was engaged in so cial work in New York city and later served for a year as an Army nurse. Mr. Triplett, who was graduated from Bluffton high school, received his degree in electrical engineering in 1942 from the University of Cin cinnati and will be associated with his father in the Triplett Electrical Instrument company. He served three years in the Army, 11 months of which were in Europe with the signal corps and held the rank of first lieutenant at the time of his discharge from the service last mont\ Among those attending the wed ding were Mr. and Mrs. R. L. Trip lett, Morris Triplett and Miss Bar bara Jean Triplett of Bluffton and Mr. and Mrs. Richard Vincent and family of El Paso, Illinois. Salesman Molests Girl In Home Here Police here are looking for a door to door magazine salesman who mo lested a nine year old girl in her home here. The incident occurred in the afternoon when the salesman was admitted into the house by the girl who had been left alone mo mentarily while her mother was on an errand in the neighborhood. The stranger attempted to make advances to the girl but hastily left when she resisted. Her mother re turned home shortly after the inci dent occurred. A description of the man has been obtained by authori ties here. BLUFFTON A Good Place to Trade NUMBER 20 BLUFFTON YOUTH FLYING TO CHINA TO TEACH FARMING Robert Pannabecker Enroute by Plane This Week to Shanghai To Demonstrate Power-Farming Methods 800 Tractors Purchased Robert Pannabecker, son of Dr. and Mrs. S. F. Pannabecker, formerly of East Kibler street, now living in Chicago, has been selected to take part in the first organized effort to teach the Chinese modern power farming methods. The Bluffton youth will leave for China this week with nine other young Americans chosen by the Church of the Brethren Service com mittee in cooperation L'NRRA as the nucleus of an instruction staff of 50 to teach the Chinese modem agricul tural methods. Eight hundred tractors have been purchased for extensive farming op erations planned in the reclamation of 2,000,000 acres of the Yellow river valley, which were flooded by the Japanese. Flying to Shanghai Pannabecker is going to China with the first group of specialists assigned to the project. The trip will be started this week with the unit scheduled to fly from Ontario, Calif., to Shanghai. Preliminary to leaving for the Ori ent, the men completed an intensive six-weeks training course in one of America’s finest tractor factories. The Bluffton youth’s early years were spent in China when his par ents served there as missionaries, and he has a knowledge of the lang uage and the Chinese' people, fitting him for the selection as one of the group assigned to the Far East re clamation project. He is scheduled to remain in China until the end of 1947. Harvey Zimmerman Funeral Services Funeral services for Harvey Zim merman, 74, were held at Pleasant Hill Methodist church south of Bluffton Saturday afternoon. Rev. L. D. Fauver of Beaverdam officiat ed and interment was in the church cemetery. Mr. Zimmerman, a retired farmer living four miles south of Bluffton, died in the hospital here following a three ■weeks’ serious illness. He was born December 8, 1871, near Harrisburg, Pa., and moved to Ohio in 1918 after living in Illinois and Indiana. He was a member of the Church of Christ at Youngs town, Illinois. He was married to Anna Walter who died January 2, 1938. Surviving are two sons: Oscar at home and Wayne of Bluffton, and one daughter Mrs. Gertrude Long of Beaverdam. Two sisters surviving are Mrs. Daisy Cutting and Mrs. Ella Blaine, both of West Chester, Pennsylvania. Couple Weds At Defiance Church An informal ceremony in the Zion Lutheran church in Defiance, Saturday morning at 11 o’clock unit ed in marriage Naomi Irene, daugh ter of the late Sylvanus and Mrs. Welty of Bluffton and Paul E. Fitsch, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ed ward Fritsch of Defiance. Rev. W. H. Shepfer officiated in a double ring ceremony. Mr. and Mrs. Roger Fritsch at tended the couple and Omar Welty, a brother, gave away the bride. She wore for the occasion a brown suit with brown accessories and cor sage of yellow roses together with two clusters of yellow roses in her hair. Following a wedding dinner at Bradford’s restaurant in Ft. Wayne the couple left on a honeymoon trip after which they will make their home at Sherwood, Ohio. The bride is a graduate of Bluff ton high school and the Betty Jean School of Beauty Culture in Ft. Wayne. She has lately been em ployed at Vel’s Beauty Box in Bluff ton. Mi*. Fritsch graduated from Defi ance high school. Later he served for six years in the Navy and is now employed at the American Steel Package company’s plant in Defiance. Laying houses should be thorough ly cleaned before the new poultry flock is installed for the 1946-47 lay ing season. Hot water and lye solu tion can reduce danger of disease in I fection later.