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Forgotten Bluffton: An artist's drawing of the village 60 years ago

Who would have imagined the growth of the village since that time?
Posted by Fred Steiner on May 9, 2021 - 7:21pm

What did Bluffton look like 60 years ago?

An artist’s rendition from 1961 examines that question more closely.

If you think nothing changes in Bluffton, think again. Here’s a bird’s-eye-view of Bluffton created 60 years ago, during the 1961 Bluffton centennial.

It shows the configuration of the village at that time.

The centennial committee also added the location of Bluffton’s first school house, a log grist mill, DeFord’s mill and the Townsend mill, which were among highlights of a centennial history tour.

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Empowering women to fight overpopulation

Make yourself aware of these issues, especially when the effects of the problem are more severe in other countries, especially as we are disproportionately responsible for the problem
Posted by Fred Steiner on May 7, 2021 - 10:39am

By Amelia Alexander
Recently, a lovely person who reads my work on the Icon sent me a thoughtful article. While the article was written over a decade ago, it is still relevant. It tackles open discourse about overpopulation.

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Three children of Johannes and Magdalena Amstutz Sommer

Our Swiss connection - part 25 (2nd in a 2 part series featuring these three children)
Posted by Fred Steiner on May 6, 2021 - 6:13am

This is the 25th installment in this series. Click here for the previous installment.

This is the second part of a two-part series on the three children of Johannes and Magdalena Amstutz Sommer family who came to America.

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COVID 19: safety in numbers

As vaccination rates are increasing, the number of cases in Ohio is decreasing for a second straight week
Posted by Fred Steiner on May 5, 2021 - 6:13am

By Karen Kier,
Pharmacist on behalf of the ONU HealthWise team
As vaccination rates are increasing, the number of cases in Ohio is decreasing for a second straight week.

Ohio reports that 32.8% of the population is vaccinated, which is slightly higher than the overall country at 31.5%. These numbers are far below the estimated herd immunity requirement to successfully reduce COVID-19 infections and exposures.

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Forgotten Bluffton: What's the story of the Bluffton hospital?

Its founding goes back more than 110 years
Posted by Fred Steiner on May 2, 2021 - 1:28pm

Today, we take for granted that Bluffton has a hospital. Not every rural community, however, has one. What is the story behind how the hospital came into existence?

That story follows:

In February 1908 a stock company, incorporated for $20,000, was organized in Bluffton for the purpose of established a local sanitarium.

The home of Dr. J.J. Sutter, remodeled the previous year, was chosen for the sanitarium.

It was located on the northeastern corner of East College Avenue and Main Street, today the site of the Bluffton Public Library.

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Three children of Johannes and Magdalena Amstutz Sommer

Our Swiss connection - part 24 (1st in a 2-part series on the children in this famiy)
Posted by Fred Steiner on April 29, 2021 - 6:44am

This is the 24th installment in this series. Click here for the previous installment.

Note: This column is in two parts. It follows three children whose parents were Johannes and Magdalena Amstutz Sommer. These three children came to America.

This column’s focus is Johannes and Magdalena’s son, Abraham and his wife, Anna Gerber Sommer.

A second column's focus on Jacob and Marianna Amstutz, and Jacob’s second wife, Lydia Amstutz.

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