Here's a rare steam photo of the Bluffton AU (interlocking) tower. It was located at the Nickel Plate-AC&Y crossing near the County Line Road, just north of Tower Automotive.
The AC&Y Historical Society's archivist Bob Lucas is working on WWII-era NKP-AC&Y interchange records in the AC&YHS's archive. Robert Peacock, society president ask anyone with addition photos or information on the towers contact him at [email protected].
Here's another view of the Buckeye quarry, where swimming was once a Bluffton summer experience. Paul Diller snapped this photo of a young man doing a cannon ball off the medium dive. (There were three diving boards in the quarry.) We're guessing this photo is from the late '50s or early '60s.
Notice the cement ledge and raft. Portions of the ledge still exist. (Jim Diller photo collection)
Take a second look. What's different about this photo? Answer: It's the bridge crossing Riley Creek on East College Avenue. But, it's not the current bridge. It's the one-lane earlier bridge, removed in the late 1980s. Paul Diller took the photo one winter. Other than the bridge, not much more has changed from the scene. (Jim Diller collection)
Here's a warm photo for a cold winter day. Paul Diller took this photo of the raft on the Buckeye, based on the suits and caps probably in the late 1950s.
Do you think you are in this photo? Or do you know someone in the photo? Let's hear from you. Paul probably took this shot along the sidewalk south of the high dive. (From the collection of Jim Diller)
Here's a photo of Paul Diller, whose photos The Icon has shared with viewers this past month. Diller was a funeral director in Bluffton and as a hobby took photos.
Although not a professional photographer, his photos capture the essence of the Bluffton community in a manner that few other photographers have matched. Most of the Diller's photos reproduced on the Icon are from the 1940s to early 1970s.
Here's a photo appropriate for a cold winter day. It shows Bluffton youth on inner tubing on the Buckeye. Paul Diller took this color slide photo. Can anyone identify the swimmers or the era of the photo? (Jim Diller collection)
