The Swiss Community Historical Society shares its traditional, Sunday, June 26, Swiss Day schedule this year with the Old Settler's Potluck & Reunion organized by the Bluffton Sesquicentennial.

Both groups are invited to bring food and attend the noon potluck meal at 12:30 p.m. at Ebenezer Mennonite Church, as well as the afternoon program time.

The Bluffton Sesquicentennial Planning Committee developed a plan for a potluck and get-together of descendants of the early settlers of the Bluffton area on June 26 at Ebenezer Church.

This date is set in its bylaws for Swiss Day, and its customary place, so the Board of Directors of the Society decided to share, in the traditional Christian doctrine of reconciliation, instead of aggression, by joining this year in a combined Swiss Day-Old Settlers Potluck.

The post-meal program this year lists:

(1) the Bluffton ladies' vocal group, the Barberettes, in a selection of popular songs, each from a different one of the 15 decades since the 1861 official founding of Bluffton and

(2) a slide presentation of The Swiss Community Historical Society's Museum Committee's thoughts about a possible Bluffton Heritage Center.After the program, a shortened annual Society meeting will be held to due to the 4 p.m. Swiss Homestead Open House and the other 4 p.m. open house at the Bridenbaugh School House.

Book reprinted

Two local history will be reprinted and available during Swiss Day.
1 - Historical Events of the Mennonite Settlement in Allen and Putnam Counties, Ohio by P.B.Amstutz (1925 - with maps added to this reprinting by Keith Sommer).

2 - Life in the Bluffton and Pandora, Ohio Community, 1877-1910: Excerpts from the Bluffton News by Edgar Schumacher (1997).

These books will be available for purchase at the Old Settlers'/Swiss Day Potluck on June 26, as well as at several locations around town throughout the Sesquicentennial celebration period.

Bridenbaugh school open house

The public has a rare chance to visit the beautifully restored Breidenbaugh Schoolhouse on, Sunday, June 26 from 4-6 p.m. The open house will be at schoolhouse on the corner of Road 6 and Road M6, near Pandora.

A Girl Scout Troop from Bluffton has been meeting throughout June to learn pioneer survival skills, and they will be sharing the songs, games and activities they have learned with other children or adults who stop by.

The girls will be dressed in home made costumes of the era. Inside the schoolhouse, visitors will be exposed to typical school day lessons, including music played by the historic pump organ.

This program is a Girl Scout "journey," a program which includes girls in short term learning and service projects even if they are not in Girl Scouts during the school year.

All the activities come from the time period of the mid 1800s, which Bluffton's birthday and also the anniversary of the Civil War. This program is part of the Bluffton Sesquicentennial Celebrations.