I'm impressed with Bluffton

Fred:

I'd like your readers to know about the Bluffton tour you gave me on a busy September day and how appreciative I am. I suspect you often do such things in the 'ambassador' line that no one ever learns about.

I'm writing a history of my small town in Ontario (Ridgetown), which has a lot of similarities with Bluffton. We're a college town with a couple auto-parts plants, located just off a major highway in the middle of beautiful farmland.

I had wondered earlier: What if the treaty at the end of War of 1812 had carved the landscape up differently and Ridgetown had grown up American, not Canadian? What would the differences be?

I thought a trip to Bluffton might yield some insight. The Bluffton library referred me to some of its e-postings (which are excellent) and also suggested I talk to a fellow named Fred Steiner.

I thought your readers might be interested in what I learned. I realize that readers who live in Bluffton will feel about their town a mix of pride and disappointment. We always hope for better, and we never get our way completely.

My outsider's view, however, is that of all the small towns I have seen, Bluffton ranks among the best. There is an obvious energy about the place, and an obvious sense that the people of Bluffton not only care about their town, they roll up their sleeves and get involved in it too. In fact, it's that sense in Bluffton that community is something worth working for that is the dominant impression I took away with me.

You might not think such a thing would be so visible, but then just think about other towns you have driven through or stopped in, and compare them with Bluffton, and I think you'll see what I mean.

Of course, it helped that I had such an excellent tour guide, always stopping to show me the results of Bluffton's people working together. Thanks for being so generous and welcoming, Fred. Bluffton made a friend north of the border that day!

Tom Button

Ridgetown, Ontario, Canada

[email protected]

Icon note: We had a great visit with our new found friend and hope to hear more from him soon.