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Everything you want to know about the Bluffton sesquicentennial

Bluffton's Sesquicentennial Committee has provide an update to events planned here June 24 to July 2. The latest schedule follows:

NOTE: A PRINTER-FRIENDLY SCHEDULE IS AN ATTACHMENT AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS STORY.

1) Festival of Wheels Car Show 2 pm on Friday, June 24.

2) Relay for Life Bluffton University Stadium starting at 4 pm on Friday, June 24. Fireworks will follow at dark.

3) The Sesquicentennial Grand Opening 11am to 3 pm on Saturday, June 25.

The Grand Opening includes these events:
Town Hall Speakers are from 11am to 12:30pm.
Bluffton Community Merchant Band is at 12:30pm.
Harmonic Duo perform at 1:15pm.
Bluffton Cloggers perform at 1:45pm.
The Ballad of John Dillinger is at 2:30pm, featuring actors and an original song written by Philip Murphy.

4) Historical Costume Ball at The Center at Bluffton in the evening in June 25. The ball features civil war era fiddle tunes by Bluffton's Sesquicentennial String Band, and dance teacher/caller Kate Power, from Columbus.

The dance style will include waltzes and traditional American contra dances such as the Virginia Reel. You do not have to have a partner to attend and all ages are welcome. Tickets are $10, which includes historically appropriate refreshments. Cash Bar. For tickets contact The Center 419-358-8533.

5) Community Church Service in the Presbyterian Church Yard at 9 am on Sunday, June 26. A mass Community Choir will perform. Bring lawn chairs.

6) Old Settlers Potluck and meeting at Ebenezer Church at 12:30 pm on Sunday, June 26. Bring a covered dish. Organizer Kenneth Zimmerman says, "What began as me commenting on my Diller-Zimmerman family reunion soon expanded into, "Why not invite all the early families."

"It seemed natural as I have discovered in researching my family that many/most of us long time (5th, 6th or more generations) are related. Thus, as part of the community festivities the Pot Luck Lunch is an attempt to honor our ancestors in a manner familiar to most."

Phil Kingsley and Charles Niswander will make a presentation on a proposed Heritage Center project for the Bluffton community. The Barbarettes will provide the entertainment and the Bluffton Public Library will have a display.

For more information contact Zimmerman at 520-483-9597. Following the potluck several local historic buildings will be open for public tours, including the Swiss Farmstead on Bixel Rd and the Breidenbaugh Schoolhouse on the corner of Road 6 and Road M-6.

7) The Bluffton Merchant Band and the Barberettes, will give a concert of music through the ages at the Presbyterian Church Yard at 7 pm on Wednesday, June 29. Bring lawn chairs. This event is free.

8) Street Fair/Flea Market sponsored by the S.H.A.N.N.O.N. Service Club of Bluffton Friday, July 1, 9 am to 4 pm in downtown Bluffton, Church Street, between Main and Jackson. Activities include a fishing booth, games, activities for children, and free face-painting. Lunch stand will be open at 11 am. To reserve a vendor space for the flea market (cost is $10), contact Deb Bollenbacher at 419-358-7365.

9) Kid's Art Alley on both Thursday and Friday June 30th and July 1st from 10-2 in the alley located beside the quilt shop, Forever in Stitches. For just a dollar, pin wheels, tin punch, carnation rings, 'buzz" saws, bubble blowing (pre-school and k) and face painting can be created by children in grades one through six.

Many of these crafts reflect the art and games which children did nearly 150 years ago. It will a fun time for all children who will be able to create a souvenir for Bluffton's 150th sesquicentennial.

9) Sesquicentennial Awards Presentation will be held at Town Hall starting at 1 pm on Friday, July 1. Miss Sesquicentennial Winner to be announced at 1 pm. Art Winner to be announced at 1:30 pm. Quilt Showing at 1:45 pm. Beard Contest winner, sponsored by Common Grounds Coffeehouse will be announced at 2 pm.

10) Bluffton's Brand of Broadway will be held at Yoder Hall Bluffton University at 7 pm on Friday and Saturday, July 1 and 2. It is free and is directed by Pat Rodabaugh.

11) Sesquicentennial Parade Of course, a Bluffton Celebration would not be complete without a grand parade, planned for 1pm July 2nd on Main Street.

Some of the featured participants: Bluffton High School Band, Bluffton and Alumni Band, Fire Trucks, Baton Corps, Horse Drawn Hearse, Antique Cars, WOW Unicycle Club, Little Miss Sesquicentennial contestants and winner, Local businesses, clubs and churches.

The Swiss Community Historical Society's entry will be a Conestoga wagon that brought Johann and Elizabeth Diller to the Swiss Settlement of Bluffton/Pandora from Holmes County, Ohio in the mid-1800s.

Several Society members will walk alongside the wagon. Another unique addition is a "Solar Train" riding down Main Street. Please the Parade Chairman at 419-365-5304 if you would like to add an entry to the parade.

Experience history first-hand through demonstrations and reenactments throughout the week:

1) Open House of the Swiss Community Historical Society homestead 4pm on Sunday, June 26, after the Settlers Potluck dinner. Guides will be on duty for the Schumacher House, the garden, the shed, and the barn. The public is invited to step back in time and see the textiles, tools and household reality of a mid 1800s pioneer family home and farm.

2) The Bridenbaugh School House will also be open at 4 pm on Sunday, June 26. 18th Century costumed Girl Scouts will be demonstrating games and songs of the early Pioneers. Inside the schoolhouse, you can experience what a typical school day was like with lessons and a pump organ.

3) Traditional Arts and Crafts Demonstrations Weaving Demonstrations will be given at the Senior Citizens Center at 2:15 on Monday, June 27. At 1 pm on Tuesday, June 28 they will be having a Crochet Demonstration. And on Wednesday, June 29 there will be a Quilting Bee at the Senior Citizens Center on Bluffton's Main Street.

4) Civil War encampment from Kenton at Bluffton Family Recreation field at 4 pm on Friday, July 1.

5) Vintage Ballgame! Bluffton residents are putting together a team called the Shannon Sodbusters to host the Wyandotte GhostRiders from Upper Sandusky on July 2.

The game begins at 2:30 pm at the Village Park. This game will be played with 1860 rules. If you would like to join the team please call Dan Groman at 419-643-5255.

6) The Scouts of Bluffton Troop 256 with will be building and staffing a "reconstruction" of an early -mid 1800s Eastern Woodlands Indian village (Shawnee) on both weekends of the celebration. They will be demonstrating activities and skills of daily life in the village.

Many of the venues will be hands-on activities that participants can try. Saturday night July 2 (8 pm) the Troop will be hosting a small modern western style pow-wow. All activities will be taking place at the Buckeye Park.

Displays and Lectures Films, and Competitions

1) Triplett Photo Exhibit A photo exhibit hosted by Bluffton University will showcase the work of Will A. Triplett and reveal life in Bluffton as captured in photographs during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Will A. Triplett was Bluffton's photographer for over 50 years. In the days before film cameras, Triplett's photographic work was done with large glass plates and flash powder, items that can be seen at the exhibit.

To put this in context, visitors can also learn about the history of photography, experience a replica of the earliest image maker, the camera obscura, and view the earliest digital camera, on loan from Xerox Corporation.

The exhibit will include more than one hundred items, including photographic prints from the collections of Dick Boehr, Fred Steiner, and Tish Triplett, related artifacts, and 30 years of second- and third-grade class photos collected by John Murray. Visitors can also help name unidentified people in some of the photos.

The Will Triplett Photo Exhibit will run from June 12 to July 2 in the Grace Albrecht Gallery, Sauder Visual Arts Center at Bluffton University. Exhibit hours are 9am. to 5pm Monday through Saturday, and 1to 5p.m. on Sundays. An opening reception will be held on June 12 from 2 to 4 pm Admission is free.

2) Mennonite Historical Display Bluffton University's Musselman Library will host a display covering the history of Bluffton University as a part of the community, the progression of campus development, as well as some other historical aspects related to the university's influence on Bluffton.

The Mennonite Historical Collections, based at the library, is a resource for learning more about the settlement of Bluffton and surrounding communities and the families who came here. Part of the exhibit will feature selected family history resources for familiar names in our greater community, as well as other resources that describe and illustrate the community's Mennonite roots. Musselman Library lobby: Monday, June 27 through Friday, July 1, 8:30 am to 5 pm.

3) Bluffton History Artifacts Lectures and Displays Interesting artifacts from our town's past will be on display at Town Hall from Saturday, June 25 through Saturday, July 2. On Tuesday June 28th, at 3 pm and Thursday, June 30th at 2 pm, Dennis Morrison will describe the stories of these antique remembrances.

He will be speaking about items that he has found using a metal detector, with a special focus on artifacts recovered during the recent excavation and replacement of Bluffton's Main Street sidewalks. On June 29th at 4 pm he will speak again about the Bluffton mayors and some interesting things that happened in the early history of Bluffton.

He is inviting anyone who has a historical Bluffton item that they would like to display to bring their artifacts to the third floor of the Town Hall on June 16, 17, & 18 between the hours of 4-7 pm. You must fill out a form to display your item.

4) Swiss Community Historical Society Displays The Historical Society will have three display areas in Bluffton: Town Hall third floor, Senior Citizens Center window and the glass cabinet inside, and the Deer Creek window. On display will be religious, household, retail, and farm items and photographs.

5) "History Comes Alive!" Lecture Series. Local historian Dr. Darrell Groman will present two lectures:

"Riley Creek and the little-known facts about Captain James Riley"
On the Third Floor, Town Hall Monday, June 27 and Thursday, June 30 7-9 pm.

Bluffton history books of 1961 and 1986 only mention James Riley as being the original surveyor of the area and that Riley Creek was likely named for him. This lecture will present fascinating facts about James Riley's life five years earlier as a sea captain and his Sufferings in Africa from shipwreck and enslavement in Africa.

As part of this presentation Groman will show the video documentary "Skeletons On The Sahara," produced by the History Channel and based upon Captain Riley's own personal account in his Narratives, will be shown. It is advised the film may not be suitable for young children.

Joyce Alig, President of the Mercer County Historical Society and writer of a book on Captain Riley will offer comments during the Monday lecture. This lecture will reveal interesting facts how Riley's Narratives influenced the young Abe Lincoln and how his book influenced the thoughts of slavery in the decades preceding the Civil War.

History comes alive as we learn about Captain Riley in his roles as farmer, sea captain, deputy surveyor, frontiersman, and representative to the Ohio House. Come to the lecture to learn the location of Deer Creek and the historical reason for naming it Riley Creek.

Tuesday, June 28 and Wednesday, June 29 at 2pm Groman will offer "The Three Joseph DeFords and Shannon Town" The Bluffton history books of 1961 and 1986 mention the town of Shannon was platted in 33 lots by Joseph DeFord in 1838, after building a cabin in 1832 and grist mill in 1833 along the banks of Riley Creek. Little-known facts reveal there were actually three Joseph DeFords: the eldest, his son and grandson, all so named without designations of Sr., Jr., nor I, II and III.

This lecture will present interesting facts about the DeFords and how they found their way to settle along the banks of the Riley. Which Joseph DeFord platted Shannon and why was it named Shannon? Is the official historical marker on the edge of town, noting Bluffton being established as a Swiss Settlement, accurate?

Early history of Shannon Town, Croghan Post Office and General Store and the incorporating of the village as Bluffton will be discussed as History comes Alive!

6) Allen County Museum Curator of Collections John Carnes June 28 at 7pm. Carnes, attired in a Union private's uniform, will tell the story of "The Day to Day Life of an Average Soldier of the US Civil War," a program highlighting uniforms, equipment and hardship. June 29 at 3pm we will here from him again with "The 2nd Ohio Voluntary Infantry during the Spanish-American War," a program that describes the experience of local soldiers during the summer and fall of 1898. He will show various weapons and equipment of the time. Third Floor of the Town Hall.

7) The S.H.A.N.N.O.N. Service Club of along with the Shannon Theatre are excited to host two presentations: "History of Shannon Theatre" and "History of S.H.A.N.N.O.N. Service Club of Bluffton (Sharing Hopes And Nourishing Needs Of Neighbors)." The evening will include Bluffton USA , a video produced in 1974 by WBGU. This event will take place Friday, July 1, 9am -12pm at the Shannon Theatre. Admission is free.

8) Garden Club's Horticultural Show will be held at the Middle School all day on Friday, June 24, 10am to 6pm on Saturday, June 25, and 12pm to 4:30pm on Sunday, June 26. All are invited to enter this contest of fruits, vegetables and flowers. Prizes will be awarded.

9) Adult and Children's Art and Photo contest at the Presbyterian Church yard. Submit entries on Thursday, June 30. The theme of the art display and competition is "Living in Ohio." Activities will continue there from 10am to 2pm on Friday, July 1.

What not to Miss

1) Sesquicentennial Quilt Project, coordinated by Teri Mullenhour , who called on both quilters and artists to make squares. Marty Hostetler helped put the pieces together and Forever in Stitches quilted the end product.

25 local women participated, and one man: Pat Rodabaugh, Amy Blackburn, Marty Hostetler, Coletta Mullenhour, Marilyn Hart, Mary Ann Jordan, Gloria Diller, Sue Groves, Bev Simon, Edith Lehman, Deb Beer, Dorothy Long, Marilyn Basinger, Lynn Rumer, Dick Cookson, Lisa Shelly, Sarah Basinger, Carolyn Rich, Linda Ream, Bobbie Chappell, Marilyn Bishop, Teri Mullenhour.

Teri asked the quilters to do a piece that reminded them of Bluffton. She said there was a very wide variety in theme. "There were two of them that used the same thing, not even thinking of it, said Mullenhour, "one used the old version of the Bluffton University Beaver and one used the new. Two used the Trout Derby ...but they were so different."

The Bluffton Sesquicentennial Quilt will be presented at Sesquicentennial Awards Presentation on the steps of the Town Hall at 1:45pm Friday July 1. It will then be on display in the Town Hall for the public to enjoy.

2) "Ladies Day: Memories of Life and Leadership from the Women of Bluffton" is a time to remember the women leaders who formed Bluffton's history. Ladies Day will be held at Town Hall from11:45am to 5:45pm on Friday, June 24. The public is invited to participate in lectures, talks, and talent.
11:45 am Bertie Swank
12:15 Christine Purvis and Betty Engle "Girl Scout Memories"
12:30 Elaine Brubaker, representing the Fair Trade Town Task Force "Self-Help Crafts: A Bluffton Store that became a National Franchise"
1:00 Anne Stretton "Ladies of the Civil War"
2:00 Laura Voth
3:00 Mary Miles "Native American Women"
3:45 Marilyn Edwards "Travel Through Time, Women of Bluffton"
4:30 Wendy Chappell-Dick "Singing the Stories of Pioneer Women"

5) Sesquicentennial souvenir products include buttons (sold everywhere), T-Shirts that can be ordered from the Sports Warehouse, and Bluffton History Playing Cards, available at the Senior Citizens Center.

6) American Girl Tea will be 2 - 4 at the Senior Citizens Center.

7) Bluffton Merchants' Raffle -Support your local businesses and the Bluffton Food Pantry. Seventy Bluffton merchants are participating in a raffle to help the food pantry and celebrate our Sesquicentennial. Participating merchants will have a poster at their place of business. Tickets will be issued one per item donated for the Food Pantry. Bring a donation for the food pantry, get one ticket for each item (for example: five items, five tickets)

On July 1st, participating merchants will draw winning tickets and post the winning numbers on the poster at their place of business. Ticket holders will then visit each merchant to learn if they are a winner.

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