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PHOTO from Bluffton High School Wall of Fame

By Bill Herr

Bluffton High School has had many outstanding teachers. One taught there for only four years, but coached a team that won an Ohio State Championship. He was Mr. Paul Stauffer. He taught forensics (Debate), drama and speech. He was very knowledgeable in all three because he had actively participated in them at Blufton College. Stauffer also directed class plays, both at the high school and at Bluffton College.

Bluffton High School students used to have interclass debates. In 1931, Mr. Stauffer's first year teaching at Bluffton, a girl qualified for individual debate in the National Tournament. Mr. Stauffer took the girl and her mother to Racine, Wisconsin, where the tournament took place. She didn't win, but in Mr. Stauffer's words, "We learned what to do and what not to do."

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By Bill Herr

John Gilbert had an amazing life. He went to school at Rawson and played football. Bluffton High School had an all-state player named Howard Triplehorn, who was an outstanding athlete as a running back. He received a scholarship from Michigan. Triplehorn was also a sophomore on the basketball team in 1928-1929, which won 23 straight games and lost to Akron St. Mary's in the state championship game, 28 to 26. Howard was the second leading scorer on the team.

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Editor's note: I've combed Bluffton University's Memory digital archive, but only found written, not photographic, records of Ralph Stearns' time at Bluffton College. 

By Bill Herr

I'm writing several columns on the most unforgettable characters I have ever met. The first is on the Stearns brothers, Telsa (Tubby) and Ralph.

When I came to Mennonite Memorial Home as chaplain, these brothers were getting older (Ralph was in his late 90s) but they were of good mind and spirit and participated in all the activities at the nursing home. This included spending time at the pool table with fellow residents. Tubby was much younger and kind of looked after Ralph.

How Tubby got his nickname, I never found out. He was big and athletic-looking, not at all overweight. He had played football and basketball at Bluffton High School. After he graduated, he played on a local semi-professional football team. He told me that, unbelievably, his team had scheduled a game to be played at Bluffton against Jim Thorpe and his semi-professional team. Jim Thorpe was a legend in American athletics. He was a Native American who was ranked by an ABC Sports poll as the greatest American athlete of the 20th century.

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First published on December 27, 2024

By Bill Herr

Thousands have seen the Ream Christmas display that originated on the Ream farm in 1938 and is now displayed each year at Christmastime on the Bluffton Presbyterian Church lawn. This story is about its founder, Harry Ream.

I first met Harry on October 22, 2001, when he had just become a resident at Richland Manor Nursing Home near Beaverdam. I was a volunteer there, meeting with men who were residents for a weekly meeting.

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By Bill Herr

During my time as chaplain at Mennonite Memorial Home for 24 years, I met a number of residents who were veterans, mostly from World War II. I don't remember all their names, but I remember their stories. 

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See Memories of Harmon Field, part 1 including 4th of July rodeos in the 1940s-50s.

By Bill Herr

In football the punter often doesn't get much credit. A good punter is important because he gives his team excellent field position. One of Bluffton High School's finest punters was Don Burkholder. He played in the late ‘40s, and was two years behind my brother who graduated in 1948. So I got to see Don in action. Although I was young, I remember his booming, rainbow punts that had great distance. Many years later I got to know him well when he was a resident at Willow Ridge. I would always tell him he was the greatest punter I ever saw. He told me that the Pirates were backed up inside the ten-yard line one game and he had to punt from the end zone.

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