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BLUFFTON A Good Place to Live VOLUME LXXII LOW BID ON LIGHT PLANT ADDITION IS FIXED AT ,$30,800 Bids of Four Contractors Range From $30,800 Low to High Mark of $38,700 Ijma Contractor’s Bid Is Low Board Has 30 Days To Let Contract Bids ranging from $30,800 to $38,700 seeking the contract of con structing an addition to the Bluffton municipal light plant’s boiler room were opened Tuesday noon by the board of public affairs. With R. H. Marker of the Toledo firm of Emery, Marker & Emery engineering advisor to the board un able to attend the meeting because of a business trip to Iowa, the four bids received w’ere taken under advisement by the board, during which time they will be turned over to Marker for review. Previous to opening the bids Marker had estimat ed the cost of the work at $35,000. The board public affairs has 30 days to act on the contract bids, Clerk Charles Emans said. Lima Firm Low The low bi submitted by H. B. Tuttle, Lima contractor, was $30,800. Tuttle’s bid allocated $t?,400 for labor and $15,400 for ials. Green and Sawyer, also of Lima, ranked next with a bid of $33,280, comprised of $18,280 labor, and $15, 000 materials. Third bidder was Friebel and (Continued on page 10) Funeral On Friday For Lamon Henry Lamon Henry, 62, retired farmer of Orange township, died at 5:45 p. m. Tuesday in Lima Memorial hospital. He suffered a stroke 11 days ago. Born Dec. 22, 1885 in Orange township, he was a son- of Mr. and “Mrs. Zechariah Henry. He married Phoebe C. Wdodruff whd died in 1943. In 1945 he married Miriam Rice who survives with one son, Leonard EL Henry, Route 8, Ada. Also surviving are four grand children, two sisters, Mrs. Eugene George of Lima and Mrs. J. A. Weaver, of Bryan, and one brother, Lester of Forest. Mr. Henry was a membei’ of the Bethel Church of Christ of Orange township. Rites will be held in the church at .2:30 p. m. Friday. Rev. C. D. Read officiating. Burial will be in the Hassen cemetery. The body will be taken from the Paul Diller funeral home, to the residence Thursday afternoon. Recreation Committee Names New Officers Reorganization of the Bluffton Re ■creation committee was effected at a meeting Tuesday night in the Bluff ton High school cafeteria, with six new members added to the group and a new roster of officers taking ■over direction of the organization. Wood row Little, new chairman, will be assisted by Paul Diller, vice chairman Leland Diller, treasurer and Norman Edinger, secretary. New members of the group are Ed Badertscher, Ed Chamberlain, Charles Steiner, Arthur Lewis, Nor man Edinger and Ralph Reichen bach. Continuing members are Levi Althaus, Harry Bogart, A. C. Burcky, Kent Cotterman, Leland Dil ler, Paul Diller, Silas Diller, Wil liam Edwards, W. A. Howe, Ralph Lanham, Woodrow Little, Gail Mum ma, Rev. V. C. Oppermann, Don Patterson, Dave Risser, Eugene Ben roth and Norman Triplett. At Tuesday’s meeting, tw’o recrea tion films were shown. They stressed the fact a recreation program must be a community venture, and cannot be carried by one organization alone. Support of municipal government, clubs, churches, etc., are essential to success. Features planned for the coming yeai to rathe funds for recreation purposes include the second football preview on September 10, a pro ■osed boxing match and a basketball carnival. Newest addition to the features ■on this winter’s recreation program has been the start of ice skating on the college tennis courts, it was an nounced at the meeting. The skat ing rink is lighted this year for after-night use. Recreation committee meetings will be held the third Tuesday of each month in the offices of The Triplett Electrical Instrument Co. Bogart Is Re-named To Election Board M. M. Bogart of Bluffton was re elected to the Allen County Board of Elections at a meeting of the Coun ty Democratic Executive committee in Lima, Tuesday night. He will serve for a four-year term. The committee also named Arden Baker, Bluffton mayor, as a county delegate to the State Democratic* Convention to be held at Columbus next summer. RECORD LOW MARK OF FIVE BELOW ZERO WEDNESDAY Coldest Weather of Winter Grips Bluffton Area This Week Cold Goes LTnhroken Into Third Week* Winter Worst in Three Years January’s wintry assault, giving this area its coldest weather in three years, continued into this week after establishing a new low mark of five below zero on Wednesday morning, on the heels of the winter’s heaviest snowfall. Wednesday morning’s drop in temperature was one degree under that recorded Sunday when the mercury fell to four below for what was at that time a record mark for the winter. The previous low, recorded a week earlier, also on Sunday, had been three below, and shivering Bluffton residents looked back on the record of an unbroken frigid wave which has had the temperature be low, at or near the zero mark daily for more than two weeks. AJtho the winter’s low mark came Sunday morning, last Saturday’s weather was the worst of the sea son. With the thermometer never climbing higher than nine degrees, a strong northwest wind churned up a snowstorm of blizzard proportions thruout the day. Approximately five inches of snow fell from shortly before daybreak until two hours after nightfall on Saturday, and in some places drifts two and three feet high were re ported. Main highways generally were clear of snow, altho a few secondary roads were blocked by deep drifts. The prolonged cold wave has brought a renewed plea for home owmers to conserve on use of gas in every way possible. Patrons have been asked to shut off water heaters and not to use stoves or ovens for heating purposes. Industries for nearly two weeks have been cut to a minimum on gas fuel, with no relief in sight until the cold wave subsides. Radio Entertainers To Be At Beaverdam Hoosier Cornhuskers, radio enter tainers will appear at Beaverdam high school auditorium next Monday night at 8 o’clock in a program spon sored by the Beaverdam fire depart ment. The Cornhuskers are heard twice daily over Findlay radio station WFIN from Monday through Friday and have a large following. Pro ceeds will be for benefit of the Beav erdam fire department. Application forms for Ohio state bonus payments to war veterans will be available on March 1 through county service organizations, it was announced last week by Chester W. Goble, state bonus director. War veterans may apply for the bonus payment as soon as forms are available, and payments will be made on a “first come—first served’ basis, Goble said. He declined to name the date payments will begin. First application may be made only by living veterans, and sur vivors’ application forms will be is sued later. Under the state’s bonus plans, Ohio veterans will receive $10 for each month of domestic service and $15 for foreign service in Woflrf War II, up to a maximum of $400. The minimum payment will be $30. To See Or Not To See—Aye There’s The Rub—We’ll Know Next Monday Application For State Bonus May Be Made After March 1 Bluffton Eyes Groundhog Weather Forecast Coming Next Monday Coldest Weather in Three Years Adds Significance to Ground hog Day To see or not to see his shadow— aye, there’s the rub as Shakespeare the immortal bard of Avon might have said had he stood watch over a Groundhog’s burrow on the second day of February during a hard win ter. And whether you believe in the Groundhog as a weather prognosti cator or whether you put it down as just an old wives’ tale told by the fire on a long winter’s night, there’s no denying that the event every year holds a measure of interest far out of proportion, perhaps to any scientific basis of fact. Anyway next Monday is Ground hog Day and tradition has it that this is the time when the little animal awakens from his winter sleep to poke his nose from his bur row and survey the skies. And custom insists that if the Groundhog sees his shadow there will be six more weeks of winter weather. If he fails to see his shadow an early spring is on the America’s Groundhog day tradi tion is said to have originated among the Pennsylvania Dutch but today is nationally accepted. The Pennsylvania Dutch, however, still have something exclusive in con nection with the day for on every February 2 the Groundhog lodge of Quarryville holds its annual meeting. This lodge, the oldest of its kind in the country is made up of sub stantial and influential businessmen of the area. Membership is obtained by invitation only. Many weliknown Americans are members including the President, Lowell Thomas, radio newscaster, and others. A Hindu potentate, also a member has donated a small, cost ly oriental rug on which the Grand Patriarch of the lodge stands du*r Tng each annual meeting. On the second day of February each year it is the duty of the pro phets of the lodge to go to the fields and keep watch beside Groundhog holes until noon. The day is rounded out with a banquet in the evening when the prophets make their reports, follow ing which the group adjourns for another year. Business Men Will Hear Findlay Man Millard Saul, director of public relations of the Ohio Oil company, Findlay, will be the speaker at a dinner-meeting of the Bluffton Busi ness Men’s association at the Wal nut Grill this Wednesday at 6:30 o’clock. Music for the meeting will be pro vided by the Richland Grange quar tet consisting of Wilford and Leon ard Gratz, Earl Matter and Morris Bell with Mrs. Earl Matter as ac companist. Ohio Northern Choir Coming Sunday Night The Ohio Northern university choir of Ada, consisting of 50 voices directed by K. A. Roider will appear in a concert at a union service at the First Mennonite church Sunday night at 7:30 o’clock. The service is one of the monthly union meet ings sponsored by the Bluffton Ministerial association. Humorist At Lions Charter Night Meet Mack Sauer, humorist nationally known as an author and entertainer, will be the speaker at the Sixteenth annual charter night observance of the Bluffton Lions club at 6:30 p. m. ne,xt Tuesday in the Walnut Grill. Sauer is editor of the Leesburg Citizen at Leesburg, Ohio. In addi tion to being known as a progressive country editor, he travels widely as a speaker, and has made appear ances as an entertainer in 30 states. PAPER COLLECTION The Bluffton F. F. A. chapter will have a paper and scrap collection Saturday beginning in the forenoon. THE BLUFFTON NEWS A NEWSPAPER DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF BLUFFTON AND VICINITY BLUFFTON, OHIO, THURSDAY, JAN. 29, 1948 BLUFFTON’S $19.20 TAX RATE FOURTH HIGHEST IN COUNTY School’s Share of $12.80 Here Is Highest School Levy in County Towns Bluffton Corporation, for Town Government, Has Next to Lowest Rate Bluffton’s tax rate of $19.20 is the fourth highest am mg nine Allen county cities and villages, with that position largely due to a levy of $12.80 for school purp ^ses, an analy sis of county’ taxation this week. tables showed The Bluffton school tax is the high est in any of the nine towns, with Lima’s levy’ of $11.90 ranking second, and Elida’s $11.50 third. Bluffton corporation on the other hand, for operation of the town gov ernment has a rate of $3.60, the low est city rate in the unty with the exception of Cairo u hprp on Iv cents is levied. Delphos has the high est city rate, $10.6( Lima’s $8.40. followed by Breakdown of Rate Bluffton’s total tax rate of $19.20 is broken down as fo lows: Schools, $12.80 Corporation, $3.60 County’ $2.60 and Township, 20 cents. Beaverdam village 'las an aggre gate tax rate of $17.6(), composed of Schools, $10.60 Corpiration, County, $2.60, and Township, Bluffton corporation from the total tax 1evy, $9.50 and Ltelphos, $7.50. $4.2o 20 cents, s cut of $3.60 compares with other county cities as follows: Delphos, $10.60 Lima $8.40 Elida, $5.75 Spencerville, 55.40 Harrod, $5 Beaverdam, $4.20 Lafayette, $3.90 Bluffton, $3.60, cents. and Cairo, 80 School tax rates in ties has Bluff ton topping the list with $12.80 Lima, $11.90 Elida, 11.50 Beaver dam, $10.60 Harrod, $10.30 Lafay ette, $10 Cairo, $10 Spencerville, Bluffton Dealer Enlarges Salesroom C. F. Niswander, dealer in farm equipment and household appliances is completing an extensive moderniz ing and enlarging of the salesroom and service shop of his establishment on South Main street. The work which was begun last summer will be finished by the end of this month. The salesroom interior, finished in a gray tint and illuminated with fluorescent lighting has been enlarged with ample space for the display of farm machinery and home acces sories. A newly designed system of hand ling repair parts has been installed and a large workshop at the rear completes a modernized unit for sales and service. Beaverdam Man Is Primary Candidate William Amstutz of Beaverdam has announced his candidacy for the office of Allen county commissioner subject to decision of the Demo cratic primary, May 4. Youth Choir At Riley Creek Church The Hancock County Youth choir of thirty voices will provide special numbers in a singspiration service at Riley Creek Baptist church Sun day night at 7:30 o’clock, it is an nounced by the pastor, Rev. Robert Turner. Births The following births at Bluffton hospital: Mr. and Mrs. Gaylord Miller, Sr., Rawson, a boy, Gaylord Frederick, Jr., Thursday. Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Burkhold er, Bluffton, a girl Judith Ann, Fri day. Mr. and Mrs. Doyle Rainey, Jr., Ada, a boy, Dennis Kent, Monday. Mr. and Mrs. Paul Konst, Sr., La fayette, a boy, Paul Edward, Jr., Tuesday. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Sheridan, Bluffton, a boy born at Lima Me morial hospital, Saturday. Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Yoder, Jr., Goshen, Ind., a girl, Diane Lynn, born last Wednesday in Elkhart, Indiana, hospital. Mrs. Yoder is the farmer Betty Amstutz, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wilhelm Amstutz of Bluffton. Bluffon authorities Monday night were ordered by the mayor to crack down on interference with municipal firemen, by arresting motorists who drive their cars over fire hose and who park or drive in the same block where fire trucks are in operation. Rigid enforcement of ordinances covering the violations was set up after Fire Chief Guy Corson ap peared before council at its Monday meeting, to report that the actions of motorists chasing to fires not only interferes with firemen but that damage to hose often results when cars are driven over the lines. State ordinances prohibit motorists from parking or driving in the same block where fire trucks are at work, crossing hose lines with their ve hicles, or of following fire apparatus at a distance of closer than 500 feet. Regular Bluffton police officials assisted by deputized firemen will enforce the crackdown order, and vi olators will be arrested, the mayor Charter Membership of 9 6 Started Movement Here April 26, 1919 Nearly Three Decades of Busy Activity Backing Com munity Projects Looking back on nearly three decades of achievement in social service and community betterment, Richland Grange, located three miles south of Bluffton, will enter its 29th year of rural community activity next April. Starting with a charter member ship of 96 when organization was completed April 26, 1919, the grange has grown to a high mark of 372 members. During its period of greatfest growth th® grange at one th»e elected 108 members at one meeting. In the grange organization’s first four years of existence, meetings were held in the Gratz school build ing, but in 1922 the present grange hall was completed at a cost of $2,000. Land for the hall was donat ed by Andrew Gratz, and all work on the building was donated by members of the organization. Pay Off Debt Following dedication of the hall by State Master Taber, the grange (Continued on page 9) Bluffton Man Will Lecture At O. S. U. Forrest Steinman of the Steinman Bros. Lumber company here has been chosen to address classes in the win ter short course in lumber and al lied subjects at Ohio State univers ity, Columbus, it was announced the first of the week. The course has been laid out by the university in order to give young men coming up in the lumber busi ness a practical background and working knowledge of that field and prominent lumber men throughout the state are on the staff of lec turers supplementing the regular classroom instruction. Steinman will speak on lumber yard arrangement and sales display. The company’s yard and salesroom here are among the most modern and efficiently arranged in this sec tion and frequently visited by lum bermen seeking ideas and sugges tions in that field. Each year the company enrolls one or more of their employees in the course which continues throughout the month of February. This year Paul Reichenbach will go. Miss Emma Dickman, clerical employe in the office who previously took the course was the first woman to be en rolled. Dorothy Anderson To Graduate at University Miss Dorothy Anderson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Anderson of Orange township is one of 60 stu dents to be graduated from Bowling Green State university this month. She will receive a degree of Bache lor of Science in Education with a major in physical sciences. She is a member of Kappa Delta sorority Kappa Mu Epsilon, mathe matics honorary Pi Kappa Delta, speech honorary, and Kappa Delta Pi, national education honorary. Mayor Orders Arrest Of Motorists Driving Over Hose Lines At Fires Richland Grange To Enter On Its Twenty-ninth Year This Spring Infantry Chorus Here Next Week 372nd infantry, will be presented in a concert in the high school gymnas ium at 8 p. m. Wednesday night of ext week under auspices of the Bluffton college department of music. Billed as the finest musical attrac tion to come out of World War II, this unique choral group, conducted by de Paur, now is on its first civil ian concert tour. The 35-voice chorus is the same which since 1942 presented 2,500 concerts, most of which were over seas. In the novel program of the chorus is included the music of many lands, songs of World War II, modern arrangements of art songs, and liturgical chants of the orthodox church and spirituals. PI BY HAR.R.Y L. HAL» 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 imies. Greene County Holds Court Fumbling among the few books on a peg-supported rough shelf in the one-room log cabin, Arthur St. Claire, Cincinnati, took down a volume and lisped: “Gentlemen, thith book lookth juth like a tethtament.” It was the June, 1804, of the yea^-old Greene County ^kurt of Causes anid Si. Clyalr, prosecuting attorney, was hunting for a Bible with which to swear in the grains jury. After taking their oaths the jur ors retired to a small pole corncrib back on the cabin to hear witnesses in secret session. Then somebody looked at the book. It was an old copy of “Arabian Nights Entertain ment.” That did not matter—the court went on with its business. Court Proceeds The court was in the one-room cabin of Benjamin Whiteman, near Owen Davis’ log cabin mill on Beaver creek, five and one-half miles west of Xenia. Xenia, laid out the year before, had but one log cabin, built in April, 1804, by John Marshall in the southwest corner of town. The county itself wasn’t much. There was the first cabin built in the settlement—that of Daniel Wilson, put up April 7, 1796, in Sugar Creek township the cabin of Thomas Townsley, built in 1798 near the falls of Massie's creek, eight miles from Xenia that of James Galloway built the same year on the Little Miami River two miles north of Oldtown the hut of Isaiah and William Garner Sutton, built 1799 in Caesar’s Creek township, five miles south of Xenia and the cabin of T. Carneal, built the year after he had laid out Caesars ville in 1800. Caesarville was intend ed to be the county seat but some thing slipped and it went to Xenia. At the time the first court was held there were a few other cabins of un identified persons in Caesarville. Every cabin had a stick chimney, (Continued on page 10) Boy Scout Paper Drive Saturday Boy Scouts of Troop 56 will collect waste paper Saturday afternoon. Those having paper to donate are asked to have it in bundles and on the curb by 12:30 o’clock. MATS ON MONDAY All news and advertising mats in tended for publication in the Bluffton News must be in the office not later than Monday night of the week in which they are scheduled to appear. Each week a number of illustrations are omitted because of late arrival of mats. TO COLLECT TAXES A deputy from the Allen county treasurer’s office wall be at the Citizens National bank, Tuesday and Wednesday, Feb. 3 and 4 to receive real estate taxes of the December collection. BLUFFTON A Good Place to Trade NUMBER 41 HOG FEEDING LOTS EMPTY ON FARMS HERE THIS WINTER Corn at Record High Mark Of fers Better Inducement for (ash Sales Some Cattle Being Fed, Prin cipally to Use Up Unmark etable Soft Corn Almost completely reversing the normal BluffUztf area farming practice of raising corn in the summer and feeding it to hogs in the winter, many farms in the district haven’t a single hog in their pens this year, a survey showed this week. nparalled in the memory of farmers hereTThe situation represents unwillingness to gamble on feeding high-priced corn to hogs at a time when the farmer can obtain an ex cellent cash return simply by market- other livestock has been largely curtailed on farms for the same reason, and the winter feed program of the district where normallv thousands of bushels of corn are used in feeding programs is at its lowest ebb since prior to World War I. Feed at Record High With corn prices holding at $2.50 a bushel cats at $1.25, wheat at $3, and mixed hay’ at $20, farmers be lieve there are too many* hazards involved in high-priced feeding pro grams. Older op-wators recall what hap pened in 1 ”32 when livestock prices broke, an* feeders lost heavily be cause of t.w» high-priced initial in vestment buying stock, plus an additional oss on costly’ feed. Curtaitm«’jit of cattle feeding local ly has no: been as pronounced as the decline in hog production, since it is more practicable to feed the soft com o* last fall’s crop to cattle. Ft* 4,Com to Cattle Ininw*.mre corn can be handled in cattle Y*^ng much better than with hogs, i»d those ji^ith sizable qtianti ties W soft cftrn have maintained cattle herds as a means of utilizing the grain to their advantage. Those farmers who have good corn, however, have earmarked it for cash sale when they think the market is right, and very little is going into feeding programs this winter. Many farmers are said to have some com on hand from two year’s yields, dat ing back to the 1946 crop, which they plan to sell when they think the market has hit the high mark. With com at $2.50 a bushel now, many’ observers^ are predicting $3 corn by spring, and they point to the fact that it’s not only more profit able but a lot less work to sell the grain than to attempt feeding pro grams. Earl Matter Heads Community Institute Election of officers for the coming year was one of the highlights of the closing session of Bluffton’s an nual two-day’ Community Institute, last Thursday afternoon in the local high school building. In the two-day meeting, talks by outstanding speakers, including Joseph Fichter, state Grange master, and varied entertaining features were the principal items of interest to farm and community residents. New officers of the men’s institute group include Earl Motter, president Harry Anderson, secretary-treasurer and the executive committee is com posed of Carl McCafferty, Francis Basinger, Henry Huber and Truman Bixel. Officers of the women’s institute: Pres., Mrs. Gerhard Buhler vice pres., Mrs. Ezra Moser se$., Mrs. Andrew Hochstettler. Collect Clothing In Relief Drive Clothing for relief purposes will be collected Saturday in a project sponsored by the First Mennonite church and students of Bluffton col- The entire town will be canvassed and those making contributions are asked to place the bundles on their doorsteps by 9 o’clock in the morn ing. Beaverdam Gets New Fire Truck The Beaverdam fire department has received the new fire truck which the village purchased some time ago. Members of the fire de partment are holding weekly meet ings to familiarize themselves with the equipment.