Want to hear a good Halloween story? Here’s one. And, it’s true.
Most of us have forgotten that the bend in the road on State Route 235 north of Ada was originally laid out as a 90-degree angle. If you head north, you can see a remnant of that angle – but look closely.
Most of us have also forgotten that the 90-degree angle once had a name: Dead Man’s Jog.
What graduate in Bluffton High School (BHS) history has contributed more to athletics before and after his graduation than any other? My choice is Jim (Spike) Berry. This is his story. Today Spike lives with his wife Joyce in Bluffton. They have two children, Julie and Jay, and four grandchildren. Spike graduated from BHS in 1956. He was a good athlete in three sports: football, basketball and baseball.
Ron Lora played football and basketball with Spike and shared these reflections: "Spike and I were classmates in high school. We even roomed together at Bluffton University in Lincoln Hall. He was always upbeat, outgoing, and friendly–popular with all of our classmates and teammates. Spike understood the fundamentals of the sports he did. I asked him which sport he liked best. He said that whatever sport was in season, he liked that sport the best."
In high school Spike was a team leader. He played in memorable games. Bellefontaine was ranked either 1 or 2 in the state in basketball. There were two divisions then, A and B. They were in A and BHS in B. Bluffton defeated them. Willshire was undefeated and won the State tournament, but their closest game was with Bluffton, which was ahead 16 points at halftime. Willshire's 6 foot 11 inch center dominated in the second half and they won. Spike scored in double figures in both games.
A crayon recycling collection box can be found in the children's area of the Bluffton Public Library.
By Liz Gordon-Hancock
Don’t throw your unwanted crayons away! According to Crayola’s website, Crayola crayons are made of paraffin wax, which is refined from petroleum. That means crayons take years to biodegrade if thrown away and taken to landfill.
According to the National Crayon Recycle Program, 12 million crayons are produced each day. That makes a potential 12 million crayons going into landfill tomorrow.
