The Bluffton news. [volume], May 18, 1950, Image 1

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BLUFFTON
A Good Place to Live
VOLUME LXXV
-.—.... ....... ... —.
CITY SOLICITOR
OUTLINES CASE
TO COUNCIL HERE
Public Utilities Commission to
Hear Application at
Columbus
Decision to Hinge on Determin
ation of Fair Return on
Capital
Bluffton telephone company’s ap
plication for an increase in local
rates will be heard next Tuesday in
Columbus by the Public Utilities
Commission of Ohio, it was an
nounced Monday night at a meeting
of the municipal council.
Despite widespread local objec
tion to the proposed rate boost, evi
denced in the form of petitions
signed by parons, there is no likeli
hood at present that spokesmen for
the objectors will appear at the
hearing.
Petitioners requested the village
council to take the leadership in an
organized movement to oppose the
increase in service charges, but in
tervention by the town was ruled
out at a meeting of the council
Monday, upon advise of City Solici
tor John Romey.
Service Not A Factor
Meeting with councilmen, Romey
pointed out that local petitions wide
ly circulaed and bearing hundreds
of signatures would not have a bear
ing on the utility commission’s rul
ing on the matter because they were
based on charges of unsatisfactory
service provided by the company.
Romey told councilmen, that the
final decision on rates will be based
entirely on results of a study of in
vested capital of the utility and its
rate of earnings.
Service provided by the company
for local patrons in no way will
have a bearing on the commission
ruling, and there is no reason to
present an objection on such a
basis, the city solicitor said.
Rates Proposed
Higher rates proposed by the
telephone company range from 50
cents for residential users on four
party lines, to a boost of $2.50 for
business places. Percentage-wise,
the increases would be from 25 per
cent to 83 per cent.
New rates sought by the telephone
firm are as follows: (Not including
federal excise tax.)
One-Party Line Business—Pres
ent rate, $3.50 proposed rate, $6
an increase of 71 per cent.
Two-Party Line Business—Pres
ent rate, $3 proposed rate, $5.50
an increase of 83 per cent.
One-Party Line—Residence—Pres
ent rate, $2.25 proposed rate, $3.50
an increase of 55 per cent.
Four-Party Line, Residence—Pres
ent rate, $2 proposed rate, $2.50
an increase of 25 per cent.
Rural Party Line Business
Present rate, $3.50 Proposed rate,
$4.50 an increase of 30 per cent.
Rural Party Line Residence
Present rate, $2 proposed rate,
$2.50 an increase of 25 per cent.
Name Poppy Poster
Contest Winners
Winners in the Poppy Poster con-1
test conducted under auspices of the
Legion Auxiliary were announced the
first of the week. Contestants were
48 pupils of the grade school art
class taught by Miss Theola Steiner.
Judges were Mrs. F. T. Lauriat, Mrs.
Ralph Rammel and Mrs. Harold
Montgomery.
Winners of cash awards were: 1st,
Carolyn Garmatter 2nd, Jean Ann
Frick 3rd, Rebecca Frankhauser
4th. Annabelle Amstutz 5th, Jo Ann
Niswander 6th, Shirley Burry 7th,
Jean Ann Kempf.
Flags were presented to 41 other
contestants.
The prize-winning posters will be
exhibited in the window of the Rice
Dry Goods store.
Change Date For
Orchestra Concert
Bluffton college orchestra will
present its spring concert in the high
school auditorium on Saturday night,
May 27 at 8 o’clock. Date of the
concert was changed because of a
conflict with the high school alumni
dinner on Friday night. The orches
tra of 24 pieces will be directed by
Laurence Burkhalter of the College
department of music.
ah Th.
/I
fhj 27'%2/z-■
be Heard Next Tuesday
Speaker For B. H. S.
Commencement May 25
.......
Speaker for Bluffton High school
Commencement exercises Thursday
night May 25 at 8 o’clock will be Rev.
DeWitt Jones, well-known lecturer,
writer and for 26 years pastor of
Detroit’s Central Woodward Chris
tian church. In addition to his work
in the church, Dr. Jones also served
as a columnist a»d foreign corres
pondent for “The Detroit News.’’
EGG MARKET
DROPS TO NEW
PRE-WAR LOW
Dealers Quote Top Buying
Price of 24 Cents Here
Wednesday Morning.
Mounting Supplies Far Outstrip
Demand, Despite Govern
ment Support.
Eggs on the Bluffton marrket drop
ped to the lowest level since before
the war Wednesday morning, when
dealers were quoting a buying price
on top quality large white eggs of
24 cents a dozen.
From this top price, quotations
scaled down to 19c a dozen for me
dium size brown eggs.
The current market averages
about one cent below the pre-Easter
quotations when the market took a
bad break early this spring.
The present drop in egg prices,
dealers attributed to drying up of
the demand by hatcheriees which are
winding up their spring hatching
season, together with increased re
ceipts in the large marketing centrs.
“There are just too many eggs in the
country,” was the way one dealer
summed it up.
Although the federal government
continues to support the market by
purchases of dried eggs, dealers here
explained that lack of egg drying
establishments in this section has
caused prices to sag below support
levels because of expense invovlved
in transportation of eggs to these
processing centers.
Births
The following births at Bluffton
hospital:
Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Young, Leip
sic, a boy, Timothy Joe, last Wed
nesday.
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Cole, Ada,
a boy, William Nelson, Friday.
Mr. and Mrs. Joe Birchnaugh,
Bluffton, a boy, Kelly Eugene, Sat
urday.
Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Sommer, Pan
dora, a boy, Jonathan Lee, Satur
day.
Mr. and Mrs. Herman Searfoss,
Jenera, a girl, Mary Ann, Sunday.
Mr. and Mrs. Jerome Herr, Bluff
ton, a girl, Mary Anna, Sunday.
Mr. and Mrs. Donald Diller, Ben
ton Ridge, a girl, Rebecca Grace,
Sunday.
Mr. and Mrs. Theron Bibler, a
girl, Colette Ann, at Morton Brant
hospital, Clearwater, Fla. Mrs.
Bibler is the fonner Pauline Carr,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. G.
Carr of Bluffton.
College Men's Glee
Club In Concert
Bluffton College Men’s Glee club
will appear in its third annual con
cert at the high school auditorium on
Wednesday night, May 24 at 8:15
o’clock. The concert will include
secular, light and sacred numbers
and instrumental selections, a marim
ba solo and brass quartets.
H. S. Baccalaureate
Next Sunday Night
Opening Bluffton High school
commencement week activity, bacca
laureate services for the graduating
class will be held Sunday night at
8 o’clock in the school gymnasium.
Rev. Paul Cramer, pastor of the
Bluffton Methodist church, will
preach the class sermon, taking as
his subject, “Where Do We Go
From Here?”
Also appearing on the program
will be Rev. J. N. Smucker, Rev.
L. W. McIntire and Rev. Howard
Landis. The processional and re
cessional will be played by Joan
Gratz and Janet Althaus, and spe
cial music will be provided by the
high school mixed chorus.
Nominate Officers
For Legion Post
Rluffon Legion post will hold its
annual election of officers on Tues
day, June 5, it was announced this
week following the report of the
nominating committee.
Officers nominated are:
Commander—Gerald Swank, John
Stonehill.
Adjutant and treasurer Walter
Green, James Stonehill.
Color bearers—Charles Hankish,
Jr., Charles Conrad.
Service Officer—Stanley Basinger.
Historian—James Benroth.
Chaplain—Rev. Paul Cramer, Q.
E. Burkholder.
Sgt.-at-arms—Paul Geiser, Al In
galls, Harry Anderson.
Anyone knowning of any ex-serv
ice men in veterans hospitals or bed
fast please notify Denver Augsburg
er, adjutant of Bluffton post.
Recital At College
Next Tuesday Night
A general student recital featur
ing vocal and instrumental numbers
will be presented at 8:30 p. m. next
Tuesday night in Ramseyer chapel
on the Bluffton college campus.
Students of Prof. Russell A.
Lantz, Otto Holtkamp, Laurence
Burkhalter and Mrs. Pearl Bogart
Mann will appear on the program.
School Music
Program Friday
Some 280 grade school pupils will
appear in a music program in the
high school gymnasium, Friday
afternoon at 1:30 o’clock.
The program will depict develop
ment of the country through its
music including Negro spirituals,
mountain music, Indian war dance,
Maypole dance and folk games. It
will be directed by Miss Elma Ater,
instructor in vocal music together
with grade school eachers.
Bluffton’s first-grade enrollment,
which has been on the uptrend for
the last several years, is due to de
cline about eight per cent when school
opens next September, according to
registration at last week’s annual
pre-school clinic, usually a fairly
accurate barometer of the following
fall’s school attendance.
In the clinic at the grade school
building last Friday morning, regis
tration of 41 children indicated a
Car Overturns But
Continues To Run
A car which overturned several
times on the Dixie highway one
half mile south of Bluffton early
Sunday morning was apparently lit
tle worse for the eposide as it land
ed on its wheels and the driver,
Justin Johnson, 24, of Lima, drove
it to Bluffton hospital for treat
ment of injuries.
Johnson suffered only minor facial
cus however, Mrs. June Trippie
horn, 29, of Bluffton, who was rid
ing in the car was hospitalized until
Tuesday with lacerations of the
left foot.
Former Local Flyer
Trains Missionaries
Paul M. Wertheimer, former chief
pilot for the Bluffton Flying Serv
ice, has been named flight examiner
for the Civil Aeronautics Adminis
tration in Chicago, where he now is
flight instructor for the missionary
technical course at Moody Bible In
stitute.
Before becoming associated with
the Bluffton flying concern, follow
ing the close of World War II,
Wertheimer built and operated the
Ada airport.
THE BLUFFTON NEWS
A NEWSPAPER DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF BLUFFTON AND VICINITY
BLUFFTON, OHIO, THURSDAY, MAY 18, 1950
Petition for Higher Phone Rates CITY WATER MAINS Richland Township Contracts for
Here to
ARE EXTENDED ON
COUNTY LINE ROAD
Project of Laying 1,000 Feet
of Pipe Is Completed This
Week
Fire Protection Provided for
New Residential District
in Area
An extension of Bluffton’s net
work of city water mains was com
pleted this week for a distance of
1,000 feet along the Allen-Hancock
county line road north from Jefferson
street intersection.
In the project, water and fire pro
tection service was provided for a
new residential building area opened
up along the road this spring.
Water works employes laid 400
feet of four-inch mains 200 feet of
two-inch mains and 400 feet of one
inch mains in the program completed
this week. A fire hydrant also was
installed on the county line road
about 350 feet from the intersection
with Jefferson street.
Service for Residence
In the extension program, water
service will be provided for a new
house being built on the county line
road by Ivan Johnson on a lot pur
chased from Ezra Basinger.
The water main also was extended
beyond the home site to near the
Nickel Plate railroad tracks to pro
vide water for the A to Z Market
slaughterhouse.
This is the second year there has
been a water main extension in the
eastern part of the town. Last sum
mer, new mains were extended on
Cherry street to the county line, and
300 feet north on the county line.
Former Teacher
Dies In Kansas
...
Lewis Steiner, 85, ,w taught in
he Bluffton schools more than fifty
years ago died at his hom^ in Win
field, Kansas, Tuesday^/ Death fol
lowed a heart attack. He was a
brother of the Misses Susan and
Elizabeth Steiner and Gideon Stein
er of this place.
The family resided in Winfield
where he was instructor in mathe
matics at St. John’s Lutheran college
for forty-five years from which he
later retired.
Besides relatives here he is sur
vived by his wife in Winfield also
five sons, Robert of Topeka, Kansas
Harold, Dallas, Texas Richard,
Conway, Conn. Waldo at home and
John of Stuttgart, Germany also
two grandchildren. e
Funeral services will be held in
infield, Thursday followed by bur
ial at that place.
Pre-School Clinic Attendance
Forcasts Fewer in First Grade
class of about that size for next fall’s
school term.
This is a drop of eight from the
1949 first-grade enrollment of 49, a
decline of about eight per cent.
At the clinic, prospective first
grade students received physical ex
aminations conducted by Dr. Gail
Miller, Allen county health commis
sioner, and the county health nurse.
No serious defects were discovered
in any of the children, it was re-
On County G. O. P.
Executive Board
Three Bluffton and Beaverdam
precinct committeemen were named
to the Allen County Republican ex
ecutive committee at a meeting of
the county central commit'tee held
in party headquarters at Lima,
Monday night.
They are: John Thompson and
Armin Hauenstein of Bluffton and
Stanley Vertner of Beaverdam.
Selections for the 37-member ex
ecutive committee were made from
caucuses of committeemen from the
various townships and Lima city
wards.
Moving To Lima
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Geary of
the Zehrbach apartments, on Vine
street will move to Lima this sum
mer where they are building a new
home, now nearly completed. Mr.
Geary is employed by the Buckeye
Pipe Line company. Mrs. Geary who
has been home economics instructor
in Mt .Cory high school recently
resigned her position, effective at
the close of the current school year.
Mrs. Lauby To Teach
Religious Education
Mrs. Charles Lauby, instructor in
religious education i n Bluffton
schools for the past four years was
re-hired for the coming year at a
meeting of the Bluffton Council of
Religious Education, Tuesday night
at the high school building.
She will give instruction in week
day religious education in the first
six grades and also a class in the
first year of junior high school on
an elective basis.
Officers of the Religious Educa
tion council recently elected for the
coming year are: Pres., Rev. L. W.
McIntire vice president, Clarence
Diller sec.-treas., Rev. O. Merrill
Boggs.
Senior Class Play
Monday And Tuesday
“January Thaw” Bluffton high
school senior class play will be
staged in a two night run in the
auditorium next Monday and Tues
day at 8 o’clock.
The play depicts what happens
when a modern New York family
and old fashioned Connecticut Yank
ees live together in the same house.
Antagonism grows until a fire,
funeral and elopement the constable
is called in to help settle the matter.
The cast includes Sara Badertsch
er, Rosella Moser, Roderick Balmer,
Mary Jean Ramseyer, Raelene Camp
bell, Janet Stover, Marilyn Amstutz.
Kay Berry, Ada May Oyer, Dorothy
Amstutz, Mary Balmer, Don Schmidt,
John Bauman, Jane Risser, Lena
Preta, Howard Landes, Eugene
Hankish, Mickey Gleason and Kenny
Parish.
The production is directed by Prof.
W. A. Howe with Dorothy Hardwick
and June Habegger in charge of
state properties and Ruth Diller and
Jane Risser in charge of publicity.
Neighbors Plow
For Farmer, III
Outlook for the summer became
brighter for Harold Schick and
family south of town when a group
of 15 good neighbors came in and
plowed and worked down 22 acres
of ground for Schick who is ill.
Included in the group were Don
Sommers, Harold Badertscher, Carl
ton Emerick, Ortho Cotner, Bob
Klingler, Kirt oYunkman, Chancey
Spallinger, Cloyd, Victor and Ralph
Schick, Marcus Emerick, Bud Mc
Carty, Kenneth Chidester and John
Manahan.
Schick, recently hospitalized for
surgery will be restricted from rid
ing a tractor for some time.
Others who have given aid recent
ly are Ralph Hall, Martin Burk
holder, Gerald, Howard and Don
Spallinger and John Chidester.
ported.
On the basis of the health clinic
registration of 41 first-graders, Bluff
ton’s school attendance for all grades
next fall is expected to be approxi
mately 500. To offset the graduating
class of 45 high school seniors there
will be the 41 first-year students.
Attendance on the opening day last
September was 502, the first time in
eight years that enrollment for the
12 grades has topped the 500-mark.
Plan Street
Carnival Here
Municipal councilmen Monday
night granted permission to the
Bluffton Recreation committee to
close Church street between Main
and Jackson sreets on Thursday,
Friday and Saturday, June 29, 30
and July 1, for a community car
nival to be held on those dates.
Concessions, rides and other car
nival features will be set up in the
area, and operated by local men,
to raise funds for the community
recreation program.
Bluffton Youth In
State F. F. A. Band
Richard Bucher, member of Bluff
ton high school chapter of Future
Farmers of America has been invited
to play in the Ali-F. F. A. band dur
ing the state F. F. A. congress to
be held at Ohio State university June
1 to 3, it was announced this week.
All members of the band will be
F. F. A. members and Prof. C. J.
Fair of the 0. S. U. school of music
will conduct. Bucher is the son of
Mr. and Mrs. Roy Bucher, of Bluff
ton.
Fire Protection from
Class Speaker At
Bluffton College
Dr. D. Elton Trueblood, professor
of philosophy at Earlham college,
Richmond, Ind., will be the speaker
at Bluffton college commencement
exercises Monday morning, June 5.
Dr. Trueblood is a widely known
educator, lecturer and author.
RAIL STRIKE END
SPEEDS MAIL AND
FREIGHT SERVICE
Railroads Here Only Indirectly
Affected by Six-Day
Shut Down
Parcel Post and Periodicals De
layed by Congestion in
Mails
Delayed mail, parcel post and ex
press shipments hit Bluffton hard
during the six-day-old railroad strike
before it reached a settlement stage
Tuesday.
Trains on the Nickel Plate and
A. C. and Y. railroads were not
affected by the strike, and operated
as usual thru the town during the
layoff period, but nation-wide dis
ruption of mail service particularly
resulted from the strike action.
Delivery of periodicals and news
papers was far behind schedule dur
ing the strike action, and the mag
azines usually delivered prior to the
week end did not reach the local
post office until early this week.
Most first-class mail came thru on
a fairly prompt schedule, but parcel
post was delayed because of disrup
tion of train schedules. Railway ex
press shipments also suffered heavily
while the strike was in progress.
Altho striking trainmen were re
called to work on Tuesday, it likely
will require a few days to clear up
the jam created on a nation-wide
scale by the cessation of work.
Baccalaureate At
St. Mary's Church
Baccalaureate services will be
held at St. Mary’s Catholic church,
here Sunday morning at 9 o’clock
for members of the church who are
graduating from area high schools
this spring.
Among them are Lena Preto, Mar
gery Stratton, Eugene Hankish and
Don Schmidt of Bluffton Ursula
Nusbaum, Pandora, and Arthur
Recker, Beaverdam.
Following the services the gradu
ates and church members will be
guests at breakfast served by the
Alter and Rosary society.
Scholarship Honor
To Beaverdam Girl
Barbara Joan Fett, pupil in the
Beaverdam schools and daughter of
Mrs. Otis Fett, south of Bluffton was
one of five from the Allen county
district schools receiving superior
rating in the annual statewide eighth
grade scholarship tests. Superior
rating was given to one percent of
the 44,627 pupils who took the .tests
thruout the state.
BLUFFTON MARKETS
Wednesday Morning
Grain (bushel prices) Wheat,
$2.15 corn, $1.39 oats, 80c soys,
$2.66.
Poultry—Heavy hens, 22c Leg
horn hens, 17c heavy fryers, 27c
Leghorn fryers, 21c heavy stags,
11c Leghorn stags, 10c.
Eggs—Large white, 24c large
brown, 22c medium white, 20c
medium brown, 19c.
Butterfat—No. 1, 57c No. 2, 52c.
BLUFFTON
A Good Place to Trade
NUMBER 5
Beaverdam
ACTION FOLLOWS
CONTRACT MADE
WITH BLUFFTON
Rural .Residents Can Call Either
or Both in Event
of Fire
Arrangement with Beaverdam
Seen As Bnefit to South
End of District
Richland township rural sections
in the future will get fire protection
service from both Bluffton and
Beaverdam, an enlargement of the
senice formerly provided by the
Bluffton department alone.
Contracts have been signed with
both villages by the township board
of rustees, and in case of a rural
blaze firemen may be called from
either Bluffton or Beaverdam, or
both towns, it was announced this
week.
This is the first time the town
ship has had an agreement with the
Beaverdam deparment, and the aug
mented service was established large
ly for the added protection of resi
dents in the southern part of the
township, who live near that village.
No Complaint
Trustees said there was no dis
satisfaction with service provided in
the past by the Bluffton department,
and that he supplemental contract
was signed principally' because of the
advantages of an expanded protec
tion program.
Under terms of the agreement
with Beaverdam, a flat fee of $200
is paid by the township for all calls
answered by the department during
a one-year period. Bluffton’s con
tract with the trustees provided for
a $250-a-year payment for the next
two years.
Beaverdam has a new motorized
Chevrolet fire pumper purchased
about two years ago.
Cal Luginbuhl Dies
Funeral Saturday
Calvin Luginbuhl, 66, farmer and
carpenter, residing three miles south
west of town, died Tuesday night
at 11:30 at Bluffton Communiy hos
pital with a ruptured appendix. He
was taken to the hospital May' 7
and had been showing improvement.
His death was unexpected.
Funeral services will be held at
Ebenezer Mennonite church Satur
day afternoon at 2:30 o’clock with
Rev. Howard Landes officiating.
Burial will be in the Ebenezer ceme
tery.
He was born March 12, 1884, near
Bluffton the son of John U. and
Kathryn (Hilty) Luginbuhl, and
was married March 8, 1908 to La
vina Bucher who survives.
Mr. Luginbuhl was a former mem
ber of the Bluffton board of educa
tion and a trustee of the Ebenezer
Mennonite church.
Besides his wife he is survived by
a son Delbert of Bluffton and five
daughters: Mrs. Ola Moser, Spring
Lake, Mich. Mrs. Vera Feiker, Co
lumbus Mrs. Norma Luginbill and
Mrs. Edna Sommers, both of Bluff
ton and Mrs. Esther Niswander of
Pandora.
Also surviving are 14 grandchild
ren a sister, Mrs. Emma Burkhold
er of Lima and four brothers: Eli,
Ocean City', N. J. Oswin, Lima,
Rt. 4 and Homer and Oscar of
Toledo.
The body will remain at the Paul
Diller funeral home until time for
services.
Beaverdam Native
Dies In Ft. Wayne
Lee Scoles, 71, native of Beaver
dam and brother of Alva Scoles of
Bluffton, died at his home in Ft.
Wayne, Tuesday morning following
a six months’ illness. His parents
were Mr. and Mrs. Geo. Scoles of
Beaverdam. He lived in Ft. Wayne
for many y'ears and was employed
as a truck driver.
Besides his brother of this place
he is survived by his wife, three
daughters and another brother, How
ard Scoles of Loveland, Colorado.
Funeral services will be held in
Ft. Wayne, Friday morning follow
ed by burial there.
Secretary At High
School Hospitalized
Mrs. Jackson Koontz, office secre
tary at the high school is a patient
in Bluffton hospital. Las week she
prsented her resignation to the board
of education effective June 1.