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Historical Bluffton

It happens every year, but this was the first one

Posted by Staff on November 5, 2023 - 6:00am

The tale of Bluffton's first teenage speeding ticket

By Fred Steiner
www.BlufftonForever.com

Take a wild guess. You’ll be way off.

In which year was the first Bluffton teenager pulled over by a Bluffton police officer and charged with speeding?

Would you believe 1919?
The holders of this distinction are Raymond Stratton and Tesla “Tubby” Stearns. These Bluffton speed demons may have raced at the unheard speed, topping perhaps 15 miles per hour,  and in so doing created an incredible racket.

The story as we understand it follows from an interview we had with “Tubby” in 1989, when he lived at Mennonite Memorial Home, 70 years after the incident. First, a little background on these two potential juvenile delinquents. Stearns was a 1918 Bluffton High School graduate and Stratton was a 1919 grad. 

CONTINUES

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Historical Bluffton
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Heritage Center update for October 29

Posted by Staff on October 30, 2023 - 9:51am

Did you visit the Schumacher Homestead at Fall Festival? Big changes are coming to the Swiss Community Historical Society's Heritage Center project.

By Kaye Phillips and Seth Bixel

This will be a big week at the SCHS Heritage Center construction site. The Bixel/Basinger Barn will start to take shape on the foundation (PHOTO of progress). The sky crane will return. The sides are going to go back up. This barn was on Phillips Road in our Swiss Settlement for 173 years. Tomorrow starts the next 173 years plus, at the Schumacher Homestead on Bixel Road. Bluffton, Ohio.

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Historical Bluffton
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Ashless cigar invented in 1919 in Bluffton

Posted by Staff on October 29, 2023 - 7:30am

Bill Hahn, member of the BHS class of 1919 held the patent

By Fred Steiner
www.BlufftonForever.com

It’s a little-known fact that Bluffton, Ohio, is the home of the patented “ashless cigar.” Why there’s no sign at the edge of town stating this fact is something I’ve never quite figured out. Perhaps it’s time to do something about it. So, here’s me doing something.

This cigar information is a long-held secret in my family, who happens to hold the patent. 

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Historical Bluffton
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One month after Roswell

Posted by Paula Scott on October 22, 2023 - 6:00am

By Fred Steiner
www.BlufftonForever.com

Bet you didn’t know that a “strange illuminated object” was sighted in rural Bluffton. It occurred one month after a “flying disc” was recovered from a ranch near Roswell, New Mexico, home of one of the most well-known extraterrestrial area  in the United States.

One can only imagine how history might have struck us, had the object crashed in rural Bluffton – no matter what might have been discovered in such a wreck. 

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Historical Bluffton
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One century ago this BHS team made a name for itself

Posted by Staff on October 15, 2023 - 6:00am

By Fred Steiner
www.BlufftonForever.com

This Bluffton High School team wasn’t even called the “Pirates,” yet 100 seasons ago, it set the standard for a winning football tradition in our community.

The 1923 red and white Bluffton team, playing before most school athletic leagues were formed, won eight games and lost only one. Even its loss, by a close 3 to 9 score, was impressive.

Here’s the story of this Bluffton team:

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Historical Bluffton
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One room, ten twins

Posted by Staff on October 8, 2023 - 6:00am

By Fred Steiner
www.BlufftonForever.com

Imagine teaching school with a classroom with five sets of twins.

Beyond all the other issues of teaching, 110 school years ago, that was the situation at the Hilty country school west of Bluffton on Columbus Grove Road. Ed Hilty was the teacher of the 10 children plus the remaining students covering grades 1 to 8.

Like all one-room schools in the Bluffton Swiss Settlement, this school had three names.

First is had a township identification, in this case, District No. 3.

Second it had a tree name, in this case, Silver Maple school.

Third, it had a Swiss surname, based on several factors including the original Swiss land owner, in this case, a Hilty family.

For the rest of this story, names of the twins and more photos from the Hilty school click HERE.

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Historical Bluffton
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