The Bluffton news. [volume], April 08, 1948, Image 1

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BLUFFTON
A Good Place to Live
VOLUME LXXII
BEGIN FIRST HOUSE
IN TOWN’S SPRING
BUILDING PROGRAM
Excavation Completed for Ger
ald Swank Residence on
West Elm Street
Water Main Being Extended to
New Building Addition on
Cherry Street
Making a belated start in Bluff
ton’s spring residential building pro
gram/ excavation for a new home
was 4mpleted early this week on a
West 1pm street property owned by
Ge ram Swank, North Main street
barbershop proprietor.
S^hqik’s building lot is just east
of the curve in the street, and ad
joins tlif Amos Reichenbach, Jr.,
property |of which a house was con
structed last fall.
Swank's building program is the
first res|db’htia1 project launched
this spring in the town, and altho
there are ^rumors of other projected
homes, ^pr^vailing inflated construc
tion 'pnces| so far have proved an
effective djjnper on the start of a
general buiBing boom.
At the sane time, pressing need
of municipal service facilities for
new subdivisions resulted in the lay
ing of a newiwater line to the Har
ley Burkholder addition, Cherry
street and Cfunty Line road, this
week.
A four-inch water main was ex
tended on Cherry street, to provide
water service for the new building
addition. Connections also were
made for fire hydrant protection.
Tag Dag In Cancer
Drive Here Saturday
Tag day, one of the features of
Bluffton’s cooperation in the Ameri
can Cancer month drive, will be held
here next Saturday, with members
of the Travel Class sponsoring the
sales campaign.
bp the meantime, program of
city-wide canvass to raise funds for
the war on cancer was moving for
ward locally, with women’s clubs co
operating in the venture.
The Alice Freeman club and Cen
tury Circle members will contact in
dustry and take charge of distribu
tion of coin collection boxes in retail
stores here.
Half of the funds raised in the
campaign will remain in Allen coun
ty, to be expended through the direc
tion of an Allen County unit estab
lished Tuesday night at a meeting
in Lima attended by five local repre
sentatives.
At the session Mrs. A. E. Lichten
walter and Mrs. Charles J. Sheri
dan were named members of the
county executive board and Mrs.
Lichtenwaiter was elected secretary
of the county unit.
Objectives of the American Cancer
society, first organized as a volunteer
unit in 1913, are: 1—Research on a
national level 2—Education on the
state level 3—Service on the state
level. Since 1945, activity the
society has been greatly expanded,
and today 77 of Ohio’s 88 counties
have local organizations. Officers
and a medical advisory board recom
mend expenditures from funds.
Of money raised in campaigns, 50
per cent remains in the county 10
per cent goes to the state organiza
tion 15 per cent to the national or
ganization, and 25 per cent is used
for national research.
Bluffton’s delegation assisting in
organization of the Allen county unit
Tuesday night included Mrs. Her
man Hilty, Mrs. Wilford Steiner,
Mrs. A. E. Lichtenwalter, Mrs.
Pwight Spayth and Mrs. Charles
J. Sheridan.
Groups from Bluffton, Harrod,
Elida, Beaverdam and Lima -were at
the session.
Dinner Honors Boss
Employe Pensioned
Miss Mary Diller, West Elm
street, was honored at a dinner
party given by the Boss Manufac
turing company Friday night at the
Walnut Grill. After the dinner she
was presented with gifts from em
ployees and a gold plated plaque
from her employer in appreciation
of her years of service with the
company.
Miss Diller joined the Boss organi
zation in 1921 in Pandora where a
plant was being operated and six
•years later resumed her work in the
Bluffton plant. She has retired on
a pension plan provided by the com
pany in the last two years and is
the first employe of the Bluffton
plant to participate in its benefits.
Utilities Untroubled
By Shortage Of Coal
Bluffton utility plants have not
yet felt the pinch of the coal short
age, resulting from the late March
shutdown of mines, a survey showed
here this week.
Enough coal for approximately
three more weeks of uninterrupted
service is on hand on the municipal
light plant, Supt. John Swisher said
Tuesday, and there are no plans for
curtailment of sendee.
At the Central Ohio Light and
Power Company’s major generating
plant, located here, there is no sign
of a fuel pinch being felt for more
than a month, it was reported.
In the meantime, the meagre sup
ply of fuel available for householders
in local coal yards was approaching
the vanishing point, but no real
crisis is expected unless extended
cold weather should return.
FINANCING REPAIRS
AT BUCKEYE POOL
PUZZLES COUNCIL
Major Repair Program Needed
At Municipal Swimming
Center This Year
Basis of Management at Pool
Also Deferred For Further
Study By Group
The problem of stretching limited
finances to cover the cost of com
pleting a major program of neces
sary repairs at Buckeye lake swim
ming pool was one of the major
problems encountered by municipal
council Monday night in considering
plans for operation of the town
swimming center during the coming
summer season.
With financial stringency of the
town’s treasury complicating plan
ning, councilmen have a first-class
headache on their hands in determin
ing how to go about financing re
moval of the large two-pool float
from the quarry and effecting needed
repairs to the structure.
A new floor is needed in the big
float, necessitating its removal from
the quarry, and a lot of additional
work also will be required to put the
float into condition for the coming
summer.
Bath House Needs Repairs
In addition to repairs to the float,
extensive work also will be required
at the bath house and to other
facilities at the pool, councilmen
learned in an inspection tour of the
premises 10 days ago.
Another problem was encountered
in consideration of the basis on
which management of the swimming
pool will be set up for the coming
season.
A committee consisting of Council
men Charles Aukerman, Wilford
Geiger and Mayor Arden Baker will
be responsible for presenting several
alternate programs of procedure with
respect to management at next
meeting of the council, when a man*
ager for the pool likely will be
hired.
More Than 500 At
Triplett Open House
More than 500 persons viewed
operations in four operating plants
of The Triplett Electrical Instrument
Co., last Thursday afternoon, in the
local industry’s first community open
house program.
The open house tour of operating
departments was held in connection
with observance of the close of the
company’s 44th year of operation
here, in which it has become one of
the major industries in its field.
It’s Leap Week at Bluffton college
and co-eds with the determination of
a modern Sadie Hawkins are on the
prowl stalking the males of their
choice all over the campus.
And the males, apparently, aren’t
too elusive—fact is they have posted
signs at vantage points reminding
the girls that this is their golden
opportunity—when the privilege is
theirs of paying for an evening’s en
tertainment at the theatre and an
after-show snack.
Mosquito Control Program To Be
Continued ThisiYear By W. A. Howe
Every Co-ed Out To Get Her Man
During Bluffton College Leap Week
During this week, all social cus­
Spring And Summer Control
Treatment Will Be in Exper
ienced Hands
Employment of Former Mayor
As Control Director Sanc
tioned By Council
Bluffton’s spring and summer
mosquito control program will be in
experienced hands this year, it was
decided Monday night at a meeting
of the municipal council when the
group approved the mayor’s appoint
ment of Wilbur A. Howe to the po
sition.
Howe, a former mayor, who took
on the job during war years when
no one else could be found for the
work, agreed to continue the con
trol program again during the com
ing season.
Regular treatment of all bodies of
water *.ithin the Corporation limits
will be entailed in the treatment
program to control the summer’s
mosquito infestation.
Inaugurated aboi^t a decade ago
when Howe was ini the mayor’s of
fice, the summer treatment program
has been one of the most successful
ventures on the municipal service
program.
Howe will receive $1.25 per hour
for time spent in spraying the creeks.
Herrmann Funeral
Rites Held Monday
Funeral services were held Mon
day morning in St. Mary’s Catholic
church for Joseph Edward (Ed)
Herrmann, 61, of 116 Washington
street, who died at 11 p. m. last
Thursday in Lima St. Rita’s hos
pital.
He had been in the hospital a
month. Death was iaused by a
heart ailment.
A son of Casper knd Frazina
(Steff) Herrmann, he (was born at
Archbold, August 11, 1^86. Unmar
ried, he had *»een an er rploye of The
Triplett Electrical Inst iiment Co.
Survivors i jjlude three brothers,
Irvin J.
Herrmann, all of Bluffton.
Rev. James Nett officiated at the
funeral services Monday. Burial
was in Maple Grove cemetery.
Minister's Auto
Kills Cow On Road
A cow which wandered onto the
highway near Pandora was killed
Sunday night when hit by a car
driven by Rev. Edgar Shady, pastor
of the Bluffton Evangelical Mennon
ite church.
The accident occurred near the
farm home of Mrs. D. C. Steiner as
the minister, returning to his home
in Pandora, was blinded by lights of
an approaching car. The front of
his automobile was badly damaged.
Births
The following births at Bluffton
hospital:
Mr. and Mrs. Harold Hunter,
Bluffton, a girl, Barbara Jean, Fri
day.
Mr. and Mrs. Roger McOwen, Pan
dora, a girl, Linda Sue, Friday.
Mr. and Mrs. John Bucher, Pan
dora, a boy, David Stanley, Sunday.
Mr. and Mrs. Don Martz, Bluffton,
a girl, Janet Ann, Sunday.
Mr. and Mrs. Marshall Adams,
Benton Ridge, a girl, Carmela Sue,
Sunday.
Mr. and Mrs. Rayon Boutwell,
Bluffton, a girl, Ronda Kae, Tues
day.
Mr. and Mrs. Roland Bixler of
North Haven, Conn., announce the
adoption of a 10-day-old daughter,
Katherine Anne. Mrs. Bixler is the
former Margaret Triplett, daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. R. L. Triplett. Mr.
Bixler is the son of Mr. and Mrs.
D. W. Bixler.
toms and dormitory regulations are
vice versa. Boys are required to
observe girls’ rules such as signing
out and time in, when gone for the
evening, while the girls are allowed
later hours than usual.
Inauguration of Leap Week has
been officially sanctioned by the stu
dent self-government group as well
as the college authorities.
A big, all-school party is being
arranged for Saturday night to
mark the conclusion of Leap Week
activities.
THE BLUFFTON NEWS
A NEWSPAPER DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF BLUFFTON AND VICINITY
BLUFFTON, OHIO, THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 1948
CRITICS PROTEST
DROPPING COURSES
AT HIGH SCHOOL
Student Publication Launches
Bitter Attack on Board of
Education
Board Members Say Critics
Lack Understanding of
Problems Involved
A pitched battle appeared in the
making this week over Bluffton
board of education action in dropping
art, agriculture and speech depart
ments as an economy measure, as
teachers, student groups and women’s
clubs struck back at the decision to
curtail courses offered in the high
school curriculum.
Smouldering opposition in the
schools flared into the open last
Friday when The Cutlass, high school
student publication, carried two edit
orials sharply denouncing the school
board’s action.
Purportedly reflecting the attitude
of teachers and students, the editor
ials hinted that at a teachers’ meet
ing held following establishment of
the curtailment policy, a program
of counter measures was being draft
ed.
“Fighting Mad”
we’re fighting mad,” said
one editorial and continued, “Peti
tions are flying around as thick as
tin roofs were several days ago in
the cyclone. The school board will
know they have a constituency. At
first the storm cloud only looked as
Continued on Page 10
Woman Found At
Home Unconscious
Mrs. Noah Niswander, said to
have suffered a paralytic stroke, was
removed to Bluffton hospital after
she was found unconscious in her
home on South Lawn avenue Tues
day noon. Hospital attaches said
Wednesday morning her condition
was unchanged.
She was found by Utv. Paul
Shelly, Bluffton college instructor, a
roomer at the Niswander home who
sensed something amiss when he re
turned to the house shortly before
noon Tuesday and noticed the morn
ing mail had not been removed from
the mailbox on the front porch.
She was removed to the hospital
Tuesday afternoon in the Basinger
ambulance.
Lila Moon To Be In
Concert Here Friday
Lila Moon, Rawson native and
Bluffton college graduate who has
since become a concert pianist, will
appear in a concert at Ramseyer
chapel here Friday night at 8:15
o’clock to which the public is invited.
Miss Moon, who appears on the
concert stage under her maiden name
will be accompanied by her husband
Weikko Kopra, Finnish baritone, who
will supply vocal number on the pro
gram.
Besides her work in Chicago where
she -was graduated from Sherwood
School of Music and appears in re
citals, she has given programs in
Iowa, Michigan and Indiana.
Her husband, son of a Luthern
minister, began singing in his fath
er’s churches as a boy soprano. Dur
ing the war he was in the air corps
and now is a junior in the Chicago
Musical college.
Entries For Amateur
Night Due On Friday
Entries for the Bluffton area ama
teur night contest to be held in the
high school gymnasium on April 23
must be in the hands of the entry
committee before Friday of this
week, it was announced Tuesday.
The contest is being sponsored by
the high school senior class as a
means of raising fun^ls to help
finance the group’s commencement
week tour to Washington, D. C.
All contestants must live within a
14-mile radius of Bluffton. Radios
will be awarded as prizes to the
five winners.
HOME FROM NAVY
Fred Fritch ie, Jr., who served
nearly six years in the navy is
spending several weeks at his home
here after receiving his honorable
discharge from the service.
BOGART IMPROVED
M. M. Bogart of South Main
street, a patient in Bluffton hospital
ill with an asthmatic condition was
reported improved Wednesday morn
ing.
Tippy Dye, Ohio State Basket
ball Coach is Speaker
Here
Awards Presented to Football
and Basketball
Squads
Honoring this year’s Bluffton High
school football and basketball award
winners, the Lions club had the ath
letes as their guests at a dinner
meeting Tuesday night in the Wai-,
nut Grill to hear William Henry
Harrison “Tippy” Dye, Ohio State
university basketball coach.
Dye, who just returned from the
national convention of college cage
mentors in New Y'ork city, also
showed films of last winter’s Ohio
victory over the University of Mich
igan, which later went on to win the
Big Nine championship.
The movies showed in action
Bluffton’s Bob Burkholder, a regular
on the Ohio team, who was the star
of the Michigan encounter.
Burkholder, w o accompanied
Coach Dye here for his appearance,
was introduced, as was Burkholder’s
father, Harvey Burkholder, west of
town.
Awards Presented
Awards presented to high school
athletes at the session by Coach Kent
Cotterman and Faculty Manager Sid
ney C. Stettler were as follows:
Football letters—Seniors—Ronald
Diller, Richard Fields, Donald Herr,
Arthur Neuenschwander Juniors—
Along^flie Ogontz
Indian Trail
Paved with blood, peopled by
phantoms and packed with tradition
not sensed by the stream of motor
ists who pass over it today, the old
Indian road between sunup and sun
set ran almost faithfully where US
250, and State Route 50, 5, 45 and
51 carry the traveler to the Ohio
River.
Passing through or near Lodi,
Medina, Ravenna and Warren, the
trail sometimes dropped a mile or
two to the south but the route al
most was identical—between Ogontz,
now Sandusky, and old Ft. McIntosh,
now Beaver, Pennsylvania. It was
the oldest and, barring the Indian
trail to Kentucky over which the
savages carried salt, the longest in
the Ohio country.
There in the 1700’s, long before
the whites came to Ohio, Indians
still streamed over it after scattered
settlements had been made.
Where the trail crossed Silver
Creek, Portage County, Frederick
Daniels and others in 1814 found
several trees on whose smoothed off
bark the Indians had carved, in their
picture-writing, historical legends.
Headless Ghost
On one of these were the figures
of seven Indians facing east. One
figure had no head. Miles back in
the beautiful Kattown valley, between
Lodi and Ashland, residents still
avoid the woods on foggy nights—
Chief Kattowa’s ■headless ghost is
said to walk there. He was murder
ed—seven Indians went into the
wilderness and but six came out.
Here and there along the trail
white settlers noticed old piles of
stones, which, though huge, appear
ed to grow as time passed. After
the Indian days had passed, settlers
tore them down to sec what the
stones covered. Under each pile
they found a skeleton, whether
savage or white, they were unable
to determine.
The Indians had a traditional
custom—every time a savage passed
the grave of an enemy he threw a
stone onto it. Geological formation
of the stones showed that they had
been picked up here and there along
the trail and tossed on the graves
when travelers came to them. Since
most Indian burials were on poles
•above ground it is a good bet the
graves were of whites.
Over the Ogontz trail parties of
Indian hunters passed long after
settlement of the area by the white
men and always returned over it
with their horses laden with the
season’s kill. That and the whisky,
meant a drunken orgy among the
savages until the meat all was
Bluffton High School Athletes Honored
At Lions Club Dinner On Tuesday Night
Continued on Page 10
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.
Contract Signed For
$75,000 Revenue Bonds
Supplemental issue of $75,000 in
revenue bonds, to complete an ex
pansion program at the municipal
light plant, cleared the final prelim
inaries last week when legality of
the issue was established by bonding
attorneys.
Municipal council Monday night
then concluded the contract with
Stranahan, Harris and Co., recom
mended by the board of public af
fairs, under which income of the
plant from its electric current pro
duction is pledged for payment of
the bonds and interest.
Contract for the additional $75,000
in bonds is the same as that under
which the Toledo bonding firm in
1946 underwrote a $125,000 revenue
bond issue, with the exception that
the new bonds will bear a 3% rate
of interest. The previous issue had
an interest rate of 2%.
MOUNTING COSTS
DELAY BUILDING OF
NEW COLLEGE GYM
Erection of Quarter-Million Dol
lar Structure Indefinitely
Postponed
Decision Announced Following
Meeting of Building Com
mittee Here
Because of rising costs Bluffton
college will postpone indefinitely
construction of the quarter-million
dollar gymnasium which it plans to
erect on the cajnpus.
This became-*' known following a
meeting last Thursday night of the
building committee in charge of the
gymnasium project together with its
advisory group and the architect in
charge.
Current sdtyrwketing buildmg costs
have outstripped by a considerable
margin the estimate of $250,001)
which was deemed adequate for erec
tion of the structure when the finan
cial campaign to raise that amount
was launched in the fall of 1948.
Agree on Postponement
At Thursday night’s meeting the
advisory committee consisting of
bankers and businessmen definitely
recommended postponement of con
struction because of increased costs
and the architect is said to have
been in substantial agreement with
this stand.
The campaign for funds with a
goal of $250,000 under way for the
past 18 months has passed the half
way mark with $133,000 raised in
cash and pledges.
Included in this amount are large
contributions from Mrs. C. H. Mus
selman and her daughter, Mrs. Luel
la Arnold of Biglerville, Pa., and
Mrs. Henry Stauffer of Palm, Pa.
Trustees Approve Remodeling Step
At a meeting of the College board
of trustees on Friday, however, plans
were approved for remodeling of
College hall this summer during the
period between the close of school
this spring and opening in the fall.
Changes will include removal of
college administrative offices from
the second floor to the first floor,
with the basement, second and third
floors housing classrooms.
Plans also include construction of
a large concrete vault.
eaten up—the Great Spirit would
provide more.
Imprisoned for Murder
It was down this trail, then noth
ing but a bridle path, that Chief
Bigson and his two sons were herd
ed in 1806 by white settlers from
Deerfield to life imprisonment at
Warren for attempted murder.
The Bigsons were members of a
group of about 20 Mohawks encamp
ed near Deerfield. Other tribes in
the neighborhood were Onondagas
and Oneidas, all of whom, including
the Mohawks, were friendly to the
whites until the Deerfield episode
occurred.
One Mohawk named John Nicksaw,
had been bested by John Diver, a
white settler, in a horse trade. All
the Indians were dissatisfied with
the bargain and Nicksaw vainly
tried to get Diver to trade back.
Appealing to other whites, Nicksaw
was told to see Diver again and get
him to “do justice.”
“No. You speak to him. Me no
speak to him again,” the Indian
said and walked away. That night.
January 20, 1806, while there was a
sleighing party at Diver’s cabin, five
(Continued on page 2)
BLUFIFTON
A Good Place to Trade
NUMBER 51
PONDER* PLANS TO
RE APPRAISE REAL
ESTATE IN COUNTY
W here To Set Basic Property
aluation Major Headache
For County
Allen County Re-Appraisal, Due
This Year, May Be Done
By Professionals...........
Re-appraisal of real estate, requir
ed this year by state law, is expect
ed to represent a major headache
for Allen county officials and those
responsible- for setting up the surveys
in other counties in this area.
Principal bugaboo faced by county
auditors in preparing to tackle the
re-appraisal job is existing inflated
values of real estate, particularly
residential and farm properties,
which today sell for two to three
times their previous valuation.
Should re-appraisals be set too
low, there will not be sufficient
revenue to meet the inflated costs of
county, city, and township govern
mental operations, but auditors also
realize that major increases in
property valuation will bring a flood
of complaints from taxpayers.
Seek Fair Plan
Trying to establish an appraisal
procedure fair to the county govern
mental units as well as to property
owners under existing conditions
pose major problems as to who is
going to do the appraising, how it’s1'
going to be done, and how to revise
the present tax duplicate.
Sentiment in Allen county at
present leans toward employing out
of-town professional appraising firms
for the program, because of their
trailed approach toward problems
suck as encountered today.
Previously the appraisal has bten
uoi» by local residents of each area,
but? today’s inflated real estate price
levels make it hai*d to get a uniform
bai s of procedure through opera
tes of that sort.
Employ Outsiders
r’aceff by a similar condition,
Putnam county already has employed
an outside professional firm for its
re-appraisal, and Elsworth Conn,
county auditor, said re-appraisals in
the last two years have raised the
tax duplicate by more than $2,900,
000.
In Hancock county, Auditor Eu
gene Lapp said property valuations
have increased $4,000,000 in the last
year.
In connection with the re-appraisal
program, required by law every six
years, state officials last week said
taxes generally have been increased
little since real estate valuation hit
the depression bottom, with most
advances made effective coming thru
special levies. v
Youth Conference
At Ebenezer Church
The 12th annual youth conference
of the Ebenezer Mennonite church
will be held over the week end from
Friday to Sunday. Rev. Walter Mc
Dowell of Quarryville, Pa., will be
the speaker and Wallace Turner of
Vaughnsville, song leader.
Services will open Friday night at
8 o’clock with a fellowship hour. A
program for young people has been
arranged for Saturday night at 6:30
o’clock and the conference has been
arranged for Saturday night at 6:30
o’clock and the conference will con
tinue with meetings Sunday morning
at 10:30 a. m. and 7:30 a. m.
To Sail Soon For
Summer tn England
Mrs. Harry Shrider, Jr., of Har
mon road will sail from New York
the last of this month to visit at her
former home in England. The Shrid
ers were married in England where
he was stationed during the war.
Real Estate Deals
Mrs. Charles Gazette has sold her
North Main street property to Levi
Frankhauser and is moving her
household goods to Indiana, Pa.
Frankhauser will occupy the prop
erty moving from the property at
the junction of Rt. 103 and the Al
len-Hancock county line which he
sold to Lawrence Rodabaugh.
Rodabaugh will occupy the prop
erty moving from the late Mrs.
Bertha Balmer residence on South
Main street. The Balmer property
will be occupied later this spring by
Mr. and Mrs. Evan Soash and fam
ily now at Alger where he is high,
school athletic coach.