The Bluffton news. [volume], December 24, 1946, Image 1

About The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current

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Merry
Christmas
VOLUME LXXI
BLUFFTON AGLOW
WITH LIGHTS FOR
YULETIDE SEASON
Residences and Business Dis
trict Gaily Anticipate
Coming Christmastide
Holiday Mail Heavy Carolers
Make Rounds, and Church
Programs Presented
With the rush of pre-Christmas
activity at an end, Bluffton area
residents were ready Tuesday for
their annual celebration of Amer
ica’s best-loved holiday season.
Dressed in brilliant holiday rai
ment and aglow with lights, homes,
lawns and business places provide a
colorful setting for the observance
of the Yuletide which opens with
the Christmas eve observance Tues
day and continues thru the advent
of the New Year.
During the week immediately pre
ceding Christmas there was a busy
rush of activity, reaching a peak
over the past weekend. An eight
inch snowfall Friday with moderate
temperatures added materially to the
holiday spirit.
Shopping Sets New Record
Shopping was heavy, with a new
record volume of Christmas trade
reported by local merchants. Christ
mas mail had Bluffton postal em
ployes swamped from the mid-part
of last week until Tuesday but every
effort was made to deliver letters
and parcels promptly despite the
rush.
To cope with the heavy volume of
Christmas mail, windows at the post
office were open Saturday afternoon
instead of closing at the usual dead
line, 1 p. m. Later—arrival Christ
mas parcels and perishable packages
will be delivered by postal attaches
until noon on Christmas Day.
Musical presentations in keeping
with the season were given by grade
school, high school and college
groups the latter part of the week,
before the institutions closed last
Friday for their annual Christmas
holiday recesses "ex&hdfng until
after the first of the new year.
Yuletide Caroling
Mild weather was favorable for
Yuletide caroling, and several bands
of singers traversed the town and
countryside in the week immediately
preceding Christmas to bring Christ
mas songs to shutins and friends.
Church observances of Christmas
were featured by the customary
children’s programs, most of which
were presented Sunday night, altho
a few were reserved for Christmas
eve.
Stores and industry generally will
suspend operations here on Christ
mas Day, and Bluffton’s new Carma
theatre also will be closed for one
day in observance of the Yuletide.
Business places and industrial plants,
however, will resume operations as
usual on Thursday.
Couple Is Married
At Home Of Minister
Miss Margaret Young, daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Young,
Lake .avenue, became the bride of
Ray Core, Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs.
Ray Core, Sr., of Pandora, in a
double-ring ceremony last Thursday
morning at the home of Rev. Ernest
Bigelow, pastor of the Presbyterian
church.
Rev. Bigelow received the vows of
the contracting parties, who were
attended by Robert Young, brother
of the bride, and Miss Bette Merriot,
of Pandora.
For the occasion the bride wore a
white wool dress, and a red rose
corsage.
The newly wedded couple will live
in Pandora where the groom is a
truck driver for Geiger Bros, Pan
dory livestock dealers.
Mrs. Core was graduated from
Bluffton High school in the class of
1942, and her husband attended Co
lumbus Grove High school.
Boss Manufacturing
Company Pays Bonus
Announcement was made Monday
by Charles Lloyd, manager of the
Boss Manufacturing Co., that all
employes of the company who were
in the employ of the company on
Nov. 30, 1946, will be paid addi
tional compensation amounting to
five per cent of the total wages paid
to the employee on the payrolls paid
and distributed within the period
Dec. 1, 1945 to Nov. 30, 1946.
Whether similar action can be
taken next year or in the future
depends entirely upon the production
and conditions, he said.
The company employs about 50
people at its plant here.
Local Girl Enroute
Home From Japan
Miss Betty Steinman of Bluffton
who has been in Japan in Red Cross
service for the past year is enroute
home according to a cable message
received by her parents, Mr. and
Mrs. Forrest Steinman of South
Lawn avenue.
She sailed from Yokahama last
Wednesday on the liner Arcadia, ac
cording to the message. This was
several days before the disastrous
earthquake and tidal wave which
devastated a portion of Japan the
latter part of last week. She is
expected to arrive home next week.
GRADE CROSSING
CRASH CAUSE OF
YOAKAM’S DEATH
Injuries Received When Jeep
Was Struck By Train First
Believed Minor
Letter From Wife Gives First
Details of Accident Re
ceived by Parents
Injuries which took the life of Lt.
Wayne Yoakam in Germany at first
were believed minor, according to an
account of the fatal railroad cross
ing mishap in a letter received Mon
day by his parents, Mr. and Mrs.
Vernon Yoakam, of near Bluffton.
The letter was written by his wid
ow', who had been in Germany since
last May with Lt.
gave local relatives
of the fatality.
Lt. Yoakam was rushed to the ar
my hospital at Kitzingen, w’here he
was stationed with the American
Army occupation forces. At first his
injuries w’ere believed minor in na
ture. X-Rays show'ed five broken
ribs, and altho the lungs evidently
had been punctured and there were
internal injuries there w'as no im
mediate indication of the serious as
pect of the case.
The mishap had occurred at 4
p. m. on Saturday, Dec. 7, and late
that night, Lt. Yoakam told his wife
hd expected to be out of the hospital
in a few’ days. Mrs. Yoakam spent
Sunday at his bedside, and there was
no indication of the serious nature
of the injuries until 6 p. m. of that
day w’hen his condition took a turn
for the worse. Death occurred at 11
p. m. that night.
Mrs. Yoakam’s letter advised rela
tives here that the body is on its way
home, and she was under the impres
sion it would reach this country be
fore she arrived here. At the writing
of the letter, sent airmail on Decem
ber 15, she still was at the home of
friends in Kitzingen, awaiting orders
from army headquarters to leave for
home. The widow’ is the former Luel
la Smith, of Jenera.
Bluffton Man In
Findlay Hospital
Benjamin Dally, Bluffton Rt. 1,
was taken to the Findlay hospital
Monday
received
pity.
Early Dutch Settlers Transform Thin St.
Nicholas To Jolly Rotund Santa Claus
Yoakam, and it
the first details
Lt. Yoakam *s
Supposition that
jeep had been struck by a train, in
dicated in cablegrams received pre
viously from Mrs. Yoakam and the
Wiar Department, were confirmed by
the account in the letter.
The mishap 'xxurred at a blind
crossing near Wurtsburg, Germany,
where the Bit artnjf officer had
stopped his jeep in an effort to see
if anything was coming on the rails.
Believing the 'track was clear, he
attempted to go over the crossing,
but failed to clear in time to avoid
being struck by an oncoming fast
train because his jeep wras pulling
a heavily loaded trailer and was too
slow in gaining speed.
night because of injuries
in an auto accident in that
the Cooper Tire and Rubber com
pany plant in Findlay when his car
skidded on an icy pavement and
crashed into a tree. He suffered
lacerations of both eyes and a severe
knee injury.
Time is precious but truth is more
precious than time. Disraeli
Original St. Nicholas, Old World
Character Revamped into
Modem Santa Claus
Clement Moore’s Famous Poem
“Night Before Christmas”
Added Sleigh, Reindeer
How St. Nicholas, one of Eu
rope’s patron saints, underwent a
metamorphosis in the hands of
pioneer settlers in this country to
become our American Santa Claus
is an interesting blending of real
and legendary characters.
St. Nicholas was an old
character who actually lived,
many of the stories told about him
are true, others are purely fictional.
He was born in Asia Minor toward
the end of the Third Century by
parents both very religious, and
very wealthy. His childhood was
devoted to religious studies and his
studies left him little time for child
ren’s games. He was a child prodi
gy, and because of his remarkable
babyhood, has been accepted as the
Patron Saint of children.
Miss Huldah Schifferly, nurse
Bluffton hospital is at her home
Poplar street with hip injuries
the result of a fall.
of
Nicholas found, upon the death
(Continued on page 8)
Three Injured In
Accidents Past Week
Three Bluffton people were injured
in accidents the past week, two be
ing the results of falls on icy side
walks Friday. Injured were:
Mrs. Harry Shrider, Sr., received
a fractured left wrist in a fall near
her home on North Jackson street.
at
on
as
Paul Schumacher employed with a
crew installing automatic signals on
the Nickel Plate railroad here re
ceived a fractured right arm Friday
while attempting to crank a gasoline
motor car used on the railroad to
transport men to and from their
work.
Last Rites Thursday
For John C. Amstutz
Funeral services wil be held at
2:30 p. m. this Thursday in the
Bethel Church of Christ for John C.
Amstutz, 71, Orange township farm
er and carpenter, who died an his
home at 10 a. m. Monday following
a sudden attack of heart disease.
Born in Switzerland Oct. 14, 1875,
Amstutz came to this country at the
age of two with his parents, Jacob
and Katherine (Boegli) Amstutz. Ke
married the former Gertrude Bink
ley, who died in 1920.
Survivors include three children:
Mrs. Ruth Anderson, at home Ralph
Amstutz,
Amstutz,
children
Amstutz,
Lee, of
Speer, of Columbus and Mrs. Emma
Lehman, of Toledo and two brothers,
Samuel F. Amstutz and William C.
Amstutz, both of Bluffton.
a
was on his way to work at
Dally
Publish Early Next Week
As next Wednesday is New Year’s day, the Bluffton
News will be published on Tuesday morning.
All advertising copy should reach the office not later
than Monday at 2 P. M.» and news items, announcements
and correspondence by Monday at 4:00 P. M.
The office will be closed on New Year’s day.
Evan
of Bluffton, and
of Findlay seven
four sisters, Mrs.
of Bluffton Mrs.
Odem, Texas Mrs. Ida
grand
Celina
Rose
of the
services
Lee B.
will be
Amstutz was a member
Bethel church where funeral
ere to be held, with Rev.
Remaley officiating. Burial
in the Thompson cemetery. The body
will be in the Paul Diller funeral
home until time for the services.
Births
The
following births at Bluffton
hospital:
r. and
Bluffton, a
day.
Mrs. Orlando Lugibill,
girl, Ruth Miriam, Sun-
Mrs. Robert McCombs,
Mr. and
Ada, a girl, Judith Anne, Monday.
Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Blackstone,
Jr., Lima, a boy, Donald Gene,
Thursday.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ellis, Lima,
boy, Clarke Jay, last Wednesday.
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Ludwig of
Lima, former Bluffton residents, a
boy, Bruce Ilan, born at Lima St.
Rita’s hospital, Friday.
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Spinelli,
South Bend, Ind., a girl, Mary
Theresa, born in that city, December
17. Mrs. Spinelli is the former
Mary McGinnis, daughter of D. A.
McGinnis of Garau street.
I HE BLUFFTON NEWS
A NEWSPAPER DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF BLUFFTON AND VICINITY
BLUFFTON, OHIO TUESDAY, DEC. 24 1946
TEACHERS SPLIT IN
TWO GROUPS OVER
PAY RAISE BASIS
Board Faced with Divergent
Demands Working
Seek
Satisfy Old and
ers in Sc
world
While
on New
to
Compromise Basis
Jew Teach
ools
----r----
Faced by the demar’-’i of two fac
tions in the public school teaching
corps, the Bluffton board of educa
tion is working on a Revised salary
schedule which it hopes will recon
cile the divergent viewpoints of both
groups.
At a special meeting last Friday
night to consider the increase in pay
made possible by passage of a spe
cial two-mill bond levy, last Novem
ber, members of the board announced
a new salary schedule will be pre
sented to teachers at the next
ular meeting on January 8.
reg-
dis-
While many suggestions were
cussed at the meeting Friday night,
there was no hint as to the general
outline of the new salary frame
work, and board mfiknbers frankly
admitted there was no definite plan
in mind at this Um
In making a deei^
of re-adjustment
board must reconcil
views of teachers
an the matter
^salaries, the
,the conflicting
fhave been on
for a num
who recently
mi
the public school a
ber of years, and tfl
have been hired.
JltoULE
Hire Over I
Older teachers a9
satisfied with the
structure, claiming
discriminated againi
tion during the lari
new instructors at
^reported dis
resent salary
&y have been
by board ac
’ear in hiring
ires above the
(Continued on page 8)
i—
Home For Holidays
From School, College
Many Bluffton stud* and teach
ers are arriving ■horn* It the holi
day vacation. Among these are:
Mr. and Mrs. Carlton Wilson and
Sarah Amstutz, students at Miami
university, Oxford.
Barbara Jean Triplett, student at
Eastman School of Music, Rochester,
N. Y.
Mary Margaret Basinger, student
Wooster college.
Jean Ann Steinman, student Bald
win Wallace conservatory, Berea.
Florence Ann Biome, Art Stu
dents league, New York city.
Alice Jean Bixel, student Oberlin
conservatory.
Mr. and Mrs. Dwight Diller, Nel
son Hauenstein, students, University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Beverly Biery, student Oberlin
college.
Mr. and Mrs. George Swank, Jr.,
Wade Mumma, Robert Burkholder,
John Marquart, students Ohio State
university, Columbus.
Mr. and Mrs. Royal Thomas, stu
dents Hahnemann Medical college,
Philadelphia.
Earl Luginbuhl, Luella Luginbuhl,
students Cincinnati Bible seminary.
Mr. and Mrs. Edward Schumach
er, Waneta Bame, Janice Hankish,
David Scudder, Dorothy Anderson,
Gareth Todd, Carl Tschiegg, Dale
Grismore, Leroy Lugibill, Mark Nis
wander, students at Bowling Green
State university.
Dorothy Schumacher, high school
instructor, Rochester, Michigan.
Rita Hankish, music instructor,
Lima schools.
Ruth Steiner, librarian, Cleveland
Heights schools, Cleveland.
Theda Hankish, instructor Glan
dorf schools.
Roberta Biery, instructor North
field School for Girls, East North
field, Mass.
Marceile Steiner, instructor, Salem
high school near Upper Sandusky.
Ruth Hankish, instructor Criders
ville schools.
District Prince Of
Peace Contest Here
County winners from the Fourth
Congressional district will compete
in the Congressional area Prince of
Peace declamation contest to be held
at 7:30 p. m. this Sunday in the
Bluffton Methodist church. Arrange
ments to hold the district meet here
were announced by Dr. B. F. Lamb,
secretary of Ohio Council of Church
es in Columbus.
BOARD MEMBER ILL
Donavon Conrad, member of the
school board, is ill at his home on
South Main street with a recurrance
of a former stomach ailment.
reaffirm
Use of the fir tree as a part of
the Christmas celebration is of Ger
manic and Scandinavian origin.
From their pagan Norse mythology,
the new’ly converted Christians of
Northern Europe took the sacred fir
or evergreen tree, and made it a
part of the Christmas festival, dec
orating it with gilt nuts and gilt
apples, symbols of the stars and
planets of the heavens.
Today, our Christmas trees are
either spruce or fir. These trees
which once were shipped to us from
the north and northw’est now often
are grown close by in suburban
areas.
Decoration of the tree has changed
much, with the advent of electric
lights, tinsel, angel hair, and elabor
ate ornaments.
Basically, however, there still re
mains the tree, and rich or poor,
from child to adult, Christmas would
not be Christmas without a tree in
the house during the Holiday season.
Candle-lighted Trees
We all remember the Christmas
of not-so-long-ago, when dozens of
gleaming candles were part of the
Christmas tree decoration. Beautiful
as they were, fire hazards, along
with the advent of the electric
light, made them a thing of the
past brought to mind only when
conversation turns to Christmas, and
the way it used to be.
The use of candles as Christmas
decorations began in Europe, and
the custom was transplanted to this
country by early Dutch colonists.
The first settlers in New England
believed that the burning of a bay
berry candle on the Christmas holi
day brought good luck consequently,
bayberry candles were used on
Christmas trees during Colonial
times. An old New England say
ing goes: “A bayberry candle burned
to the socket brings health to the
body, joy to the heart, and gold to
the pocket.”
Candles Symbolic
Candles are a symbolic allusion to
“Christ, the light of the world and
are almost indispensible for religious
services. Lights are symbols of
(Continued on page 2)
Starts Excavation
For New Dwelling
Clair Bucher is excavating pre
paratory to building a new dwelling
in the Berryhill addition on West
Elm street near the recently com
pleted residence of Mrs. Gerald Trip
piehorn.
wrica ani the JJJurlii twr-
fixe music of cRristmas Ktjmns...3Ttis is a
season of ftarmony an6 reverence, ivften off K
i
i
pfcJge atmefveo, ivUli ftuc
to
WCrtk OhJ
Tree was Formerly Held Sacred
in Ancient Norse Pagan
Worship
Use of Candles for Lighting
Tree Brought to America
by Dutch Settlers
The Christmas tree is one of the
most beautiful of all traditions and
customs associated with the Christ
mas holiday.
fotr
^ace on eartk...GooS will toward men.
Origin Of Christmas Tree Goes Far
Back Into North Europe Mythology
FEW GEESE THIS
YEAR FOR FAMILY
CHRISTMAS DINNER
Most Bluffton Poultry Dealers
Report Complete Absence of
Geese From Market
Turkey Reverses Traditional
Role, More Popular Now
Than at Thanksgiving
The goose—long a traditional main
course on the Christmas menu of
many Bluffton families—will be
missing from the Yuletide table this
year.
A survey of retail poultry mark
ets the first of this week revealed
the fact that most dealers have
bought no geese at all for this hol
iday season, and altho there have
been a few isolated sales trading is
so slack that no market quotations
have been set' on the birds.
Plenty of turkeys and chickens
moved to market last week, however,
and those disappointed in finding a
goose could easily make a substitu
tion of either of the more popular
fowls.
Brisk Demand
for
Turkeys
Demand for turkeys, especially in
the smaller sizes, was quite brisk
this holiday season, in direct con
trast to last Thanksgiving when the
traditional bird lost out to meat
hungry householders who had to
skimp on beef and pork early in
the fall because of wisespread meat
shortages.
With the traditional role reversed,
the turkey is much more popular at
Christmas this year than during the
Thanksgiving season, and demand
has been heavy enough to permit
turkey raisers in the Bluffton dist
rict to dispose of virtually all of
their marketable stock.
Chickens also found a ready mark
et in heavy holiday trading at the
end of last week and the early part
of this
Gordon Hilty Is
“Messiah” Soloist
Gordon Hilty, prominent vocalist
of Denver, Colorado, and son of Mr.
and Mrs. Philip Hilty residing
south of Bluffton on the Dixie high
way sang the tenor solos at the an
nual “Messiah” concert presented by
the city of Denver as an annual
event last Sunday afternoon.
Presentation of the concert wsfe in
the city auditorium, Sunday after
noon, with a large chorus supported
by a forty-piece orchestra. Denver
newspapers referred to the flour so
loists as the city’s outstanding vocal
talent.
Hilty is soloist at a large Denver
church and takes an active part in
musical affairs of that city.
Merry
Christmas
.------------------_-------”
NUMBER 36
HOPES RISE FOR
WHITE XMAS IN
BLUFFTON AREA
Twenty White and 15 Green
Christmases Here in Past
35 Year Span
Heavy Snowfall of Past Week
Gives District Pre-Yuletide
Setting
Bluffton’s prospects for a white
Christmas—perennial hope of the
holiday season—w ere materially
brightened by two heavy snowfalls
in the week preceding the Yuletide.
Warmer weather Monday which
threatened to melt the snow was
halted by lower temperatures Tues
day and predictions of continued
cold and fair weather for Wednes
day indicated a white Christmas.
The latest wintry assault, coming
on the heels of an Indian Summer
that dragged into mid-December,
brought six inches of snowfall Fri
day night, and there were hopes the
weather would be cold enough to
preserve the blanket of white until
(Continued on page 8)
Couple Weds In
Church Ceremony
Miss Jane Howe, daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. W. A. Howe, became the
bride of James L. Gratz in an im
pressive double-ring ceremony Sun
day afternoon at 4 o’clock at the
First Mennonite church. The vows
were received by the Reverend J. N.
Smuckef, pastor, before an altar
banked with white gladioli, ever
green and lighted candelabra. Two
large decorated evergreen trees com
pleted the background. Mr. Gratz is
the son of Mr. and Mrs. J. Leonard
Gratz of Bluffton.
Clarren Sommer, of Dalton, pre
sented a medley of pre-nuptial mu
sic and during the ceremony played
Kreisler’s ‘‘Caprise Venoise.” Roger
Howe, brother of the bride, colorful
ly “Always” and. “Because,”
and at the close of the ceremony,
“The Lord’s Prayer.”
The bride, given in marriage by
her father, was lovely in a white
slipper satin gown fashioned with a
tight fitting bodice buttoning down
the back, a high neckline with a
yoke of heavy lace, and long tight
fitting lace sleeves pointed at the
wrist.
The full skirt extended into a
cathedral train. Her fingertip veil
of illusion and lace was held in
place by a tiara of seed pearls. The
bride’s bouquet was of American
beauty roses with white satin
streamers sprayed with nacissus.
Mrs. Royal Thomas, of Philadel
phia, Pa., sister of the bride, was
matron of honor, while Miss Phyllis
Ann Geiser, of Dover, Ohio, cousin
of the bride, was bridesmaid. Their
gowns were styled alike with Mrs.
Thomas wearing pink and Miss Geis
er, blue.
The low necked faille gowns were
made with tight fitting bodices, con
trasting net yokes, bracelet length
sleeves, and full skirts. Both wore
i white sequin Juliet caps. The ma
tron of honor carried a bouquet of
yellow roses and the bridesmaid a
bouquet of pink carnations.
Miss Cheryl Kae Geiser, of Dover,
little cousin of the bride, was the
ring bearer. She wore a gown of
white net over taffeta and carried
a white taffeta pillow with the rings
fastened by satin ribbons. A gar
land of pink baby carnations
crowned her head.
Jack Shea, of Ashtabula, former
shipmate of the groom, was best
man. Donavin Moser, cousin of the
groom, and James Howe, brother of
the bride, were ushers.
Mrs. Howe chose for the occasion
an aqua crepe dress with black ac
cessories completing the ensemble.
Mrs. Gratz wore a rose crepe dress
with grey accessories. Both mothers
wore corsages of white carnations
and gardenias.
Following the ceremony a recep
tion for seventy-five relatives and
friends was held at the home of the
bride, where the table was centered
with a four-tier wedding cake.
For traveling the bride selected a
black crepe dress with rose crepe
trim, black accessories, and a cor
sage of gardenias. The couple will
make their home in a trailer in
“Beaver Village,” on the Bluffton
College campus.
The bride is employed in the office
of the Triplett Electrical Instrument
company and is a graduate of Bluff
ton High school. Mr. Gratz is a
graduate of Bluffton High school
and spent nearly three years in the
navy. He is now attending Bluffton
College.