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Historical Bluffton

A furniture store in downtown Bluffton

A furniture store in Bluffton?

You bet, and it was quality merchandise. Dick Boehr took this photo of the former Basinger Furniture store in 1969 - 45 years ago.

Today the building is home of The Black Lab Trading Co.

Here's a couple things to check out:
• The beautiful green trash container
• The condition of the sidewalk
• The business on the south side - was a a Western Auto store?
• Is that a '62 Chevy parked "the wrong way?" (Vine wasn't a one-way street in 1969)

What's your memory of Basingers?

Name this location and you are a Bluffton expert

If you can identify the location of these two Bluffton residences you are a true Bluffton expert. (Those TV towers resemble Steinman tip-over towers.)

Here's some hints:

• Photo taken 1967, prior to the houses being razed 
• Main Street, Bluffton
• The white/green house is standing today (you can see just a glimpse of it on the far right)
• Study the signs near the curb (you can only see the back side). These help in the location idenfication.

Two more years and this photo is one-half century old

Here's another gem from the Dick Boehr collection. This photo was taken in 1967. Today it is the Citizens National Bank parking lot south of the bank and north of the post office.

Here's the situation when this photo was taken:
There are two buildings in the photo. The building on the left was at the time the Vide-Vidella Dress Shop. The building on the right was the Mau Russ Shop. John Skelly owned these buildings.

This was St. Mary's Catholic Church on Lawn

Dick Boehr took this black and white snapshot of the former St. Mary's Catholic Church before it was razed.

The church faced Lawn Avenue. The location of the church is now part of St. Mary's parking lot. This view is of the church's southside. The bell is now in front of the new church building.

The congregation celebrates its 150th anniversary on Aug. 16. This photo was taken in the lat 1960s.

Click to enlarge.

Were you in the 1980 BHS show choir?

Thirty-five school years ago this was the Bluffton High School show choir. 

Thanks to Renea Zimmerman for providing this identification of the members:

Front row:  Barb Blake Clum, Ray Ruggley, Beth Mcdowell, Peter Diller, Wendy Shumaker, JW Shannon, John Penhalegon, Jana Hankish Hughes, Mike Yoder, Renea Koontz Zimmerman

Can you identify this intersection? It's from 1973

This photo requires a little imagination. Dick Boehr snapped the picture on Feb. 17, 1973. His view is from what is today the A to Z Meats property on the southwest corner of Main and Jefferson.

He is aiming at the Sohio service station, across the street (most recently Kirtland's Auto Sales). the two houses north of Sohio are about to be razed. In their place will be a Lawson's   store. It eventually will be owned by Kirtland's Auto.

Those are some pretty big gas hogs in the photos.

CLICK TO ENLARGE.

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