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BLUFFTON A Good Place to Live VOLUME LXXII MOTORIST’S PURSE VANISHES AND SO DOES HITCH-HIKER Police Looking for Transient Picked up Here Tuesday Night. Toledo Man Who Befriended Hitch-hiker in Findlay Hos pital After Crash. A Toledo motorist who picked up a hitch-hiker on Bluffton’s Main street Tuesday night is in the Find lay hospital with injuries as the re sult of an accident shortly there after The Toledo man’s wallet is miss ing—so is the hitch-hiker and sta|e patrolmen are searching for both and also an unknown car ■whose driv er is believed to have caused the ac cident. The Toledo man, James Blakely, f4, northbound thru Bluffton pick ed up the hitch-hiker about 10:30 p. m., who said he was going to De troit. Approaching the Rawson road intersection, Blakely lost con trol of his car in avoiding a colli sion with a southbound car making a left turn into the filling station at the comer. The Toledo car ran into a fence throwing the driver into a field. When the gas station attendant heard Blakely calling for aid, he went to his assistance rather than pump the gasoline for his customer. Apparently believing that his turning in front of the Blakely car caused the accident, the unknown driver left the gas station. The pa trol is on the lookout for the un known car. .The Otto ambulance from Rawson brought the injured Toledo man to Findlay hospital. The hitch-hiker, uninjured, riding in the back of the ambulance with Blakely asked the ambulance driver to turn out the light in the rear of the ambulance. About fifteen minutes after ar rival at the Findlay hospital it was discovered that Blakeley’s wallet con taining between $200 and $300 was missing and that the hitch-hiker had vanished. Blakely is suffering back and pos sible internal injuries. Only a sketchy description of the hitch-hiker is available for the po lice to work on as little attention was paid to the transient. Second Collision At Intersection The Spring and Elm street inter section was the scene of the second traffic accident in two weeks when cars driven by Paul Quenzer of Omaha, Nebraska, and Mrs. Beatrice Wells of West Elm street collided Friday afternoon at 3:30 o’clock during a heavy rainstorm. Marshal Lee Coon who checked the accident said Quenzer was driv ing north on Spring street and Mrs. Wells eastbound on Elm street. The Wells car sustained some body dam age. No one was injured. Quenzer was here to attend the wedding of his brother, Adolph, of Paso Robles, Calif., to Miss Marie Winkler which took place at the col lege chapel Friday evening. An accident occurred at the same place two weeks ago when Tom Burkholder 19-year-old Pandora motorcyclist collided with an auto mobile driven by John Shromquist of Lima. Births The following births at Bluffton hospital: Mr. and Mrs. Clifford Stewart, Columbus Grove, a girl, Barbara Lynn, last Wednesday. Mr. and Mrs. Carl Hissong, Ben ton Ridge, a girl, Brendd Karol, Thursday. Mr. and Mrs. Leroy Schey, Leip sic, a boy, Terry Lee, Friday. Mrs. Schey is the former Vidella Bucher of Columbus Grove. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Reese, Ben ton Ridge, a boy, Ray Terry, Sun day. Mr. and Mrs. James Koogler, Lima, a boy, James Lynn, Monday. Mr. and Mrs. Walter Radabaugh, Rawson, a girl, this Wednesday. Mr. and Mrs. Jay Long, Ada, a girl, Shirley Marie, this Wednesday. Mr. and Mrs. Harry Bogart of West Kibler street have taken into their home a two weeks’ old boy, Tom Duncan. Mr. and Mrs. Clayton Harkness of East Kibler street have taken into their home a three weeks’ old girl, Judith Ann. Fireworks At Kenton Bluffton Grid Game There will be plenty of fireworks at the Bluffton-Kenton high school football game at Kenton, Friday night—and it will be the real thing, at the half-time intermission. Announcement from Kenton high school athletic authorities Wednes day morning promises “a spectacu lar and dazzling display of fireworks between halves of the game,” which is something new in attractions for football fans in this section. The effects listed include star hydra shells, dazzling sunshine shells, floating star shells, flying fish, giant bombardment, electrical and thunderstorm, surprise novelty, dev il’s fort, century of progress, star cluster and shamrock of Emerald Isle shells, all of which should give the fans a new thrill. TWO BIG BARNS IN ROCKPORT AREA BURN TO GROUND Damages in Two Conflagrations Estimated in Excess of $20,000 Figure Lightning Razes Fred Basinger Barn Undetermined Fire on Clarence Begg Farm Two large barns in the Rockport area were destroyed in fires that caused damage estimated at $20,000, last Friday afternoon and evening. Lightning caused the blaze which razed a structure on the Fred Basinger farm, four miles west of Bluffton, at 3:30 p. m., and six hours later a fire of undetermined origin burned a bam on the Clarence Begg farm, four miles northwest of Rock port. Basinger was sitting on the porch and saw the lightning strike his barn in the heavy electrical storm which swept thru this district in midafter noon. The barn was equipped w’ith lightning rods. A call was placed for the Colum bus Grove fire department, but it was impossible to obtain sufficient water to battle the flames and the barn burned to the ground. Loss in the Basinger fire included a threshing machine, com and grain binders, oats, hay and w’heat, includ ing 90 bushels of seed. Some 4-H club calves, the only livestock in the barn, were rescued. Some of the con tents of the barn were owned by Basinger’s son Melvin. Loss was partially covered by insurance. Barn Burns at Night In the Friday evening fire, the Begg family had retired for the night when the blaze was discovered at 9:30 p. m. by Franklin Mayberry, a neighbor, w’ho was enroute to Co lumbus Grove. Fire departments could not be summoned immediately, because tel ephones had been knocked out of commission by the afternoon electric al storm. Mayberry notified the Co lumbus Grove fire department by riding into town on a motor scooter. Fireman obtained water from a near by stream and prevented spread of fire to other buildings. Loss included an ensilage cutter, and hay and feed for a dairy herd. No livestock was in the barn. Loss was covered by insurance. Large crowds gathered at both fires, as neighbors and friends joined the firemen in their efforts to save the contents of the barns. Musicale Sunday At Mt. Cory Church A program of vocal «and instru mental numbers will be given in the Mt. Cory Methodist church, Sunday night by Wilma Hause, Coralyn Fouts and Margaret Folk, all of Findlay, whose parents were form erly members of the Mt. Cory church. The program is the third in a series of Sunday evening musicales and offering taken at the service will go to the church’s organ fund. Mrs. Myers Receives Degree At Michigan Mrs. Lenore Miller Myers, of Col lege road, received a bachelor of arts degree in library science, after completing work toward the degree on the University of Michigan'cam pus, this summer. Mrs. Myers is Bluffton college librarian. Commercial, Vocational Subjects Again Favored By H. S. Students Industrial Arts Enrollment Is Higher Despite Attendance Drop Fewer Mathematics Classes Interest in Languages Wanes Continuing a trend in evidence the last several years, commercial cours es and industrial arts rank tops this fall in the preference of Bluffton High school students. Summary of enrollment totals in the various classes following the first week of school showed Monday that the marked movement toward vocational study is continuing in favor with high school students lo cally Although total registration in the four upper high school grades is 16 per cent lower than last year, en rollment in commercial and indus trial arts courses is holding near the 1946-1947 level. In the four upper classes this year there are 151 stu dents as compared with 179 last year. Remain Popular At the same time, the school sur vey shows enrollment of 71 this fall in five commercial classes, in com parison with 82 last year, a de cline of about 14 per cent. The five classes are first and second year typing ,shorthand, bookkeeping and commercial law. Industrial arts this year attracted a greater number of students des pite declining high school enrollment. Registration for industrial courses, including mechanical drawing, was 72, in comparison with last fall’s mark of 69. Home Economics en rolls 28 this year as compared to last year’s total of 34. Vocational agriculture, favored principally by boys from rural fami lies, held steady in popularity with enrollment of 18 this year, one more than last fall. Science, chemistry .physics, biology and general science enrollment also held steady, enrolling 107 students this year, only three off from last fall’s figure of 110. Math Interest Wanes Wartime popularity of mathe matics is waning, with only two courses, algebra and geometry this fall instead of three as last year. There are only 47 mathematics stu dents this fall, a drop of nearly one half from the 1946 figure of 82. Interest in languages virtually is non-existent at the school, and for the fourth successive year all mod ern languages have been dropped from the curriculum. During the four-year period, Latin has been the only foreign language offered, but enrollment in that course also is declining. Tctal students for first and second year Latin this fall is 29, but 22 of these are in the second-year class, with only seven pupils interested in beginning Latin this fall. Install Organ At Reformed Church Installation of the new organ at St. John’s Reformed church was under way Wednesday after a two weeks’ delay caused by the break down enroute of a motor truck transporting parts of the instrument shipped by the builders, the Kilgen Organ company of St. Louis. Wm. Miller of Cincinnati, factory repre sentative, of Cincinnati is supervis ing the installation. Former Resident Dies In Indiana Mrs. Gertrude Gage, 79, former Bluffton resident, died Sunday morn ing at a LaGrange, Indiana, hos pital. She lived here a number of years ago and moved to LaGrange where she has since resided. Funeral services were held at that place Wednesday afternoon followed by burial there. Surviving are two daughters, Mrs. Lenora Woodworth of LaGrange and Mrs. Marjorie Fretz of Wadsworth also four grandchildren. Music Instructor At Omaha School Miss Mabel Amstutz residing west of Bluffton has left for Omaha, Neb., where she accepted a position as in structor in the conservatory of music of Grace Bible institute. MARRIAGE LICENSE A marriage license has been is sued to Roy O. Sherman, Jr., 20, of McGuffey and Miriam Colleen Stettler, 19 of Bluffton Rt. 2. I IE BLUFFTON NEWS A NEWSPAPER DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF BLUFFTON AND VICINITY BLUFFTON, OHIO, THURSDAY, SEPT. 11, 1947 SPECIAL PRIMARY ELECTION HERE ON TUESDAY, OCT. 7 Fourth District To Nominate Candidates For Vacant Seat In House of Representatives Special Election In October Or dered This Week By Gov. Thomas J. Herbert Bluffton will have a special elec tion on Tuesday, Oct. 7, when voters of the Fourth Congressional district cast ballots in a primary ordered by Gov. Thomas J. Herbert to select party nominees for the post left vacant in the House of Represen tatives by resignation of Robert F. Jones, of Lima. A successor to Jones in Congress then will be elected in the November general election. Gov. Herbert announced proclama tion of a special election had been issued because he found sentiment in the district generally in favor of that procedure. Counties in the district in which the special October election will be held include Allen, Auglaize, Mercer Shelby, Miami and Darke. Filing Deadline Under Ohio electiouM|aws, candi dates for the pri must fife nominating petitions niw later than 10 days prior to the date of the primary. Three men have formal an nouncement they are candidates to succeed Jones, who resigned to ac cept an appointment to‘the Federal Communications Commission. Two are Lima residents: Dewey Fetter, chairman of the Allen county Republican Executive committee, and Joseph B. Quatman, who will be a candidate on the Democratic ticket. Also seeking the Republican nomina tion is William M. McCulloch, Piqua attorney. Candidates will have Hny 27 days to conduct caqvass of the district prior to the primary, election, and the governor’s proclamation is ex pected to jet off one of shortest 'but' ffiosf*' fieated campaigns ‘ever witnessed in the Fourth district. BY HARRY U HALS Editor’s Note—This is one of a series of articles to appear in the Bluffton News dealing with early Ohio history. Others will appear in forthcoming issues. Blennerhassett Island The occasional chug of a diving muskrat, a night bird’s cry and the rustle of a river breeze through somebody’s cornfield—those are all that break the stillness of willow bound Blennerhassett Island in the Ohio River opposite old Rockland Cemetery, near Belpre, Washington County. There, 147 years ago, music, revel ry and gaiety filled the air and a beautiful white mansion stood where only a few foundation stones, half buried in the loam, and an old well hidden among the cornstalks, remain to mark its site.* At the lower end of the three-mile long island are a few dilapidated farm buildings. These—and the shades of some of Ohio’s first digni taries which might float across un seen from the old burying-ground on the brow of the cliff to live again a life of romance, intrigue and trag edy, are all. Couple Had Wealth and Beauty Herman Blennerhassett (1767 1831), English bom Irishman who inherited $100,000 when his father died in 1796, came with his wealth to New York the following year. With him he brought his beautiful and accomplished young wife, the former Margaret Agnew, daughter of the Governor of the Isle of Man in the English Channel. In America the wealth, rank and polish of the bridal pair brought them a welcome from the best and oldest colonial families. That winter the Blennerhassetts went to Marietta and in March, 1798, paid Elijah Backus $4,500 for 174 acres—the whole upper portion of the island. The land once had be longed to George Washington. They moved into an old log-house on their property and lived there two years. It took that long to build the great crescent-shaped, two-story house. They were a refined, loving couple and their home w*s the social cen (Continued on page 8) Bluffton High school’s cafeteria emerged this week as one of the outposts holding the line against the high cost of living, with the cost of meals provided for pupils remaining unchanged from last year. For 25 cents a student obtains a noon plate lunch consisting of gen erous servings of potatoes, another warm dish such as macaroni and cheese, a cooked vegetable, milk and dessert. Servings are as large as a year ago, school officials reported. The 25-cent price, however, is slightly higher than the prevailing charge of 20 cents when school op ened last fall. An increase of five cents was made last spring, but cafeteria operation for the start of a newT school term is figured on the basis of holding at the 25-cent fig ure. Preview Success Follows One Postponement Because of Flooded Field LaFayette, Mt. Cory, Rawson, Col. Grove, Forest, Pandora, Ada, Bluffton Play After one postponement because of a water-flooded field, Bluffton’s first football preview last Saturday night was witnessed by an overflow crowd rtiat packed the stadium and lined every side of the playing field. Although participating teams had only two weeks of practice behind them, they put on a sparkling pre view exhibition in which spectator interest never lagged as LaFayette topped Mt. Cory* 6 to 0 Pandora bested Rawson, 16 to 6 Ada beat Columbus Grove, 12 to 0, and Bluff ton and Forest battled to a scoreless tie. Despite the Saturday night date, the streets w’ere packed solid with parked cars within a four-block area of the stadium. Incomplete reports indicate there were approximately 1,500 paid admissions, according to officials of the Bluffton Recreation committee, sponsors of the event. Field Flooded Originally planned for last Fri day, the gridiron opener had to be postponed when a torrential down (Continued on page 3) Many From Bluffton Attending College With schools opening for the coming year, many from Bluffton are planning to attend college both here and elsewhere. Among this number are: Jean Ann Steinman, Baldwin Wal lace college, Berea. Fluff Biome, Art Students League, New York city. Beverly Biery, Oberlin college. Neil Schmidt, Purdue university, West Lafayette, Ind. Mary Margaret Basinger, Eleanor Linden, Malcolm Basinger, Wooster college. Sarah Amstutz, Carlton Wilson, Maynard Amstutz, Miami university, Oxford. Earl Dean Luginbuhl, Cincinnati Bible seminary’. David Diller, Cleveland Institute of Music. Chas. Tripplehoni, Robert Burk holder, John Althaus, Dale Good, Geo. Swank, Jr., Ohio State university. David Tosh, Mark and James Dil ler, Wheaton college, Wheaton, Ill. Dorothy Anderson, Carol and Juanita Bame, Janice Hankish, Car rol Tschiegg, Bonnie Grismore, Bowl ing Green State university. Robert Kuhn, Richard Newlan, Michael Reagan, Ohio Northern, Ada. Enrolled in the Bluffton college freshman class: Paul D. Bixel. Ken neth Finton, Margaret and Morris Groman, By’ron Fritchie, James Lewis, Maynard Pogue, Harriet Am stutz, Lucille and Mary K. Bauman, Betty Bixel, Katherine Bohn, Joanne Buhler, Jean Anne Burcky, Helen and Joan Burkholder, Sara Jane Huser, Alice Pannabecker, Pauline Purcell, Patsy’ Schmidt, Imagean Wenger. Real Estate Deal No High Cost Of Living At High School Cafeteria Prices Unchanged Eight Teams In Sparkling Football Preview Exhibition Here Saturday Joe Mumma has purchased a building lot from Harley Burkholder in the latter’s Sunny Acres addition on Cherry street. Don Martz who owns a lot in Sunny Acres is hauling building blocks preparatory to building a house on the site. Dr. V. II. Allman Is Returned To Office Dr. V. H. /liman of Bluffton was re-elected superintendent of Sandus ky conference of the Evangelical United Brethren church for a four year term at its 115th annual meet ing in St. Marys, Friday. He has previously served as superintendent for the past ten years. The meeting was held at St. Marys at which time took place the dedica tion of the camp which the confer ence is developing at nearby Grand lake. A tract of land which a year ago consisted of swamp and woods has been cleared and an auditorium, cabins, houses and dormitories have been built on the camp site. FIVE BALLOTS FOR VOTERS HERE IN NOV. 4 ELECTION Separate Town, Township, Hoard of Education and State Issues Ballots Fifth Ballot Is Now Necessary As Governor Orders Special Congressional Vote Bluffton voters will receive five ballots when they go to the polls here in the November 4 general elec tion to mark their choice of candi dates for town, township and school board offices and indicate their pref erence of issues on a special state ballot. A fifth ballot will be required as Governor Herbert ordered an election to fill the post of Robert I F. Jones, former representative to i Congress from the fourth district, who has resigned to accept an ap pointment on the Federal Communi cations Commission. Of the five ballots local voters must mark, that carrying the names of candidates for Bluffton municipal offices will be the longest. Other ballots will include a non partisan ticket for the Bluffton board of education a Richland township ballot and a state ballot which will submit three and possibly four spe cial issues. 92,000 Ballots for County In Allen County, 92,000 ballots will be required for voters in the various subdivisions, it was announced last week by officials of the board of elections. Some 280 candidates are in the field for approximately 175 municipal, township and board of education posts in the county as a whole. Ballots are ordered by the board on a basis of 10 per cent more than registration, or 10 per cent more than the number of votes cast for governor in the last gubernatorial election for precincts in which there is no registration. Letters have been forwarded by the board of elections to 224 Allen county central committeemen—112 from each party—for recommenda tions for appointment of poll work ers for the November 4 election. Ap pointments are for one year from Sept. 15. To Report On Lions San Francisco Meet Prof. R. A. Lantz, who attended the Lions International convention at San Francisco last summer will give a report of the affair at the dinner meeting of the club at the Walnut Grill next Tuesday night at 6:15 o’clock. Club officers announced that it will be the annual 100% attend ance meeting in honor of the new president D. W. Bixler. BLUFFTON MARKETS Wednesday Morning Grain (bushel prices) Wheat $2.56 corn $2.45 oats $1.05 soys $3. Poultry—Heavy hens, 23c leghorn hens 19c heavy rock fryers 30c heavy red fryers 29c leghorn fry ers 25c. Eggs—Large whites 56c large browns 55c mediums 51c pullets 40c. Butter fat—86c. Compliments are like perfume to be inhaled, not swallowed.—Charles Munn. BLUFFTON A Good Place to Trade NUMBER 21 300 ENROLLED AT BLUFFTON COLLEGE SETS NEW RECORD Student Body At All-Time High As College Opens Doors for Fall Terms Six New Members Added to Teaching Staff Dormitory Accommodations Filled Bluffton college enrollment of ap proximately 300 students is at an all-time high this week as the in stitution opened for its 48th year of scholastic activity. In the record student body is a freshman class of 107, and upper class enrollment may still be boosted by additional registrations which were continuing at mid-week. Official enrollment figures are not yet available, because of the last minute rush of registration, but school authorities said there was no doubt a record number of students were on the campus this fall. Dormitories Filled Campus dormitories are bulging, w ith all rooms taken, and many men are quartered in accommodations about the town. Coeds are in Lin coln hall. Men on the other hand have filled Ropp hall, and overflowed into Hershey cottage, the former H. W. Berky residence Lehman cottage, the former Mrs. A. C. Geiger residence, and in the resi dence of Carl Lehman, college busi ness manager, on Grove street. All trailers and pre-fabricated homes are filled in Beaverburg, the former Beaver village just off the football field. Ex-service men attending school under provisions of the G. I. Bill comprise a sizeable proportion of the student body. Included among students are one girl each from Holland and France four students for Porto Rico, two from Canada, and one student from Italy. Six New Instructors Six new faculty members will take over th^jr duties when clasps start their regular fall schedule Thursday morning. They are Miss Dora Soldner, languages, formerly of Wheaton col lege, Ill. Howard Raid, economics and business, from Ames, Iowa William Burbick. speech department, a graduate of Bluffton Elma Louise Ater, music, Columbus Walter Zim merman, assistant coach, Akron and S. T. Moyer, returned missionary* from India, who will teach Bible. Fred Davidson, who was to have been instructor in psychology, has resigned, it was announced Tuesday, and Dr. N. E. Byers, former dean of the college, will return as in structor in that department. Burbick and Miss Ater will teach part-time at the college, spending^ the remainder of their time as in structors on the Bluffton High school faculty. Bluff ton Pastor On WLW Radio Sunday Rev. E. N. Bigelow’ will be heard Sunday morning at 8:30 o’clock on the W LW broadcast from Cincinnati speaking on the radio program “The Church by the Side of the Road.” He will deliver a 12-minute address on the talent program inaugurated last spring by the Bluffton Presby terian church of which he is pastor. Reichenbach-Little W in Tennis Crown Dale Reichenbach and Woodrow Little won the Bluffton city doubles championship last Sunday by virtue of a 16-14, 7-9, 6-4, 6-3 match score over Roger Howe and Bob Simcox, It was a three and one-half hour match, halted in the opening round two weeks ago with the score at 16-14, 6-6 because of darkness. Play was resumed at that point, with. Howe-Simcox winning the second set, 9-7. Then the city champs settled to cop the next two sets. Trophies were awarded to the win ners and the runnersup Reichenbach and Little were un defeated in doubles play this year, the first season they have reamed to gether. Their victories included the Bluffton city championship, Bluffton tennis club championship Allen county championship and the Find lay open championship. SUNDAY SCHOOL PICNIC The annual Presbyterian Sunday school picnic.will be held on Hannon field, Thursday evening at 5:30 o’clock.