Note: Have you ever wonder why Bluffton has so many large old "garages" in some of the older neighborhoods? The reason is that these building housed a range of animals from horses, cows, chickens and even goats. This story is about one family and their goats.
Before there was a Dr. Alan Yoder, optometrist, in Bluffton, there was a Dr. Gordon Bixel, optometrist.
His tenure checking Bluffton’s eye dated back to the 1930s all the way to his retirement in the mid-1960s.
Reviewed by Craig Hoffman
American country music singer Carrie Underwood is out with My Gift. This is her seventh album and first Christmas-themed effort. Underwood won the fourth season of American Idol in 2005.
Blanchard Valley Health System (BVHS) announced that Myron D. Lewis will become its next President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Lewis will start on Jan.11, 2021. Until then, BVHS will continue to be led by Scott Malaney, current president and CEO.
Lewis is currently the Spectrum Health Southwest Regional Market Leader, the president at Spectrum Health Zeeland Community Hospital (SHZCH) and the vice president of radiology services for the health system.
Men aren’t the only story tellers in Bluffton Anthology.
Joanne Niswander tells what it was like growing up on a farm with her big brother Norman Vercler. Norm could diagnose broken TVs, radios and even broken bones. She also tells what we didn’t know about him.
Ruth Naylor relates her experiences as a Bluffton student and a teacher with some surprising and humorous classroom distractions.
Betty J. Baumgartner, 88, died Nov. 21, 2020, at the Hilty Memorial Home in Pandora, where she resided with her husband, Bernie. She was born on Oct. 19, 1932 in Lima to the late Howard and Alice (Oard) Busick. On Feb. 14, 1949, she married Bernard W. Baumgartner and he survives.
Robert W. Hower, 92, died Nov. 21, 2020, at Mercy Health - St. Rita's Medical Center, Lima. Bob was born Aug. 21, 1928, in Bedminster, Pennsylvania, to the late William and Clara (Schwartz) Hower. He married A. Jean Roark Hower who preceded him in death.
Bob graduated from Bangor High School in Pennsylvania. He received his bachelor's degree in liberal arts from Bluffton College and later his teaching certificate from Ohio Northern University.
Marcus Barnett, 64, died on Nov. 19, 2020 at Blanchard Valley Hospital, Findlay. Marcus was born Dec.18, 1955 in Ivyton, Kentucky, to the late Noah and Avenell (Perkins) Barnett. On March 2, 1974, he married Barbara Dudgeon Barnett who survives.
Marcus worked at Tower International in Bluffton for 37 years and was an active member of Pleasant View United Methodist Church, Mt. Cory. .
