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Historical Bluffton

Col. Rene Studler, Bluffton's professional soldier

4th in a series of famous Bluffton High School alumni

By Fred Steiner
www.BlufftonForever.com

Rene R. Studler
Bluffton High School class of 1913
Born: Feb. 10, 1895
Died: Aug. 6, 1980

Call him Bluffton’s professional soldier. Recipient of the Legion of Merit,  the nation’s highest military award for non-combat service, Rene R. Studler served in many capacities in two world wars and became the U.S. Army’s chief of research and development on small arms, holding that post until his retirement.

• Under his direction and direct involvement, the U.S. Navy created the fighter plane ejection seat and canopy removers, 

• Chaired the development of the .30 caliber M1 carbine,

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R.L. Triplett created more jobs than any person in Bluffton's history

Third in a series of famous Bluffton High School alumni

By Fred Steiner
www.BlufftonForever.com

Ray Leon “R.L.” Triplett
Nov. 13, 1883 - Oct. 25, 1977
Bluffton High School class of 1902

Call it small-town ingenuity. Bluffton’s favorite entrepreneurial son became a 20th century household name here.

R.L. Triplett, founded an industry, which became a leader in its field. And, his business model spurred the local economy crediting him with created more jobs than any other person in our village history. For nearly eight decades the Triplett company was Bluffton’s largest single industrial operation and employer.

As a family-owned business from 1904 until 1983, the Triplett Electrical Instrument Co., was affectionally referred to locally as “the meter works.”  Under its later ownership, the company eventually closed.

Dr. Helen Barnes: BHS alumnus and International Secretary of the YWCA

By Fred Steiner
www.BlufftonForever.com

This is the second in a series of features on famous Bluffton High School alumni.

Dr. Helen Barnes, the first woman to receive a Bluffton High School diploma, rose to the top of her profession, eventually becoming international secretary of the Young Woman’s Christian Association (YWCA).

Given the barriers women faced during her lifetime, her accomplishments, views expressed and worldwide friendships she made paint a picture of a very strong, impressive and successful woman.

Dr. Barnes may be Bluffton’s most traveled woman of all time. She crossed the Atlantic by boat 13 times and traveled three times around the world during her Y.W.C.A. years.

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Ike Geiger: Famous BHS alumnus

By Fred Steiner
www.BlufftonForever.com

This feature is the first in a series of famous Bluffton High School alumni. The feature will eventually be posted on the Bluffton school website.

Ivan “Ike” J. Geiger
Aug. 10, 1909 – Jan. 12, 1955

  • Bluffton High School class of 1927
  • Bluffton College class of 1932

Through his example as an educator believing that educating the “whole person” involved blending education and athletics, Ivan “Ike” J. Geiger promoted this idea with great success.

Described in the Bluffton News in the 1940s as one of the Bluffton community’s all-time athletic luminaries – excelling in sports at Bluffton High School and Bluffton College – he became the first-ever director of athletics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Boston, holding that post from 1947 to until his untimely death in 1955.

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In 1880 Gustavus Adolphus was the talk of Bluffton

By Fred Steiner
www.BlufftonForever.com

A man named Gustavus Adolphus lived in Bluffton in 1880. That’s one name he went by. He also went by the name Dr. Rosenberg.

Another Gustavus Adolphus (1594-1632) was once the King of Sweden. A college in St. Peter, Minnesota, founded in 1862, carries also his name.

One of the most peculiar stories ever published in the Bluffton News centers on our Gustavus Adolphus Rosenberg.

We refer to this story from the Nov. 11, 1880, Bluffton News. It’s rather short, but full of images and descriptions that makes us wonder if Bluffton today is a pretty dull place to live.

Placing this story in a better context, in 1880, the Bluffton population was not quite 1,500 persons. The Bluffton News was in its fourth year. The town hall was not yet built and many buildings on Main Street did not yet exist.

For the interesting story of Gustavus, click HERE.

Have you heard of V-mail?

By Kaye Phillips
For Swiss Community Historical Society Facebook

E-mail is a commonly used form of communication, but have you heard of V-mail?

V-mail, short for 'Victory mail" was used during WWII to expedite mail service for the Armed Forces serving overseas. V-mail was put in place to reduce the space needed to transport mail and free up room to ship other valuable supplies.

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