When Bluffton Fall Festival visitors stop by the Schumacher Homestead at 8350 Bixel Rd., they'll find a big project underway. Some eight tons of flagstone and huge retaining blocks are being used to recreate an east-facing bank, which was original to the barn.
The project began with creating a new opening and building the two large doors on the east gable end of the barn.
Recently the foundation and flagstone walls of the southeast corner were rebuilt by head mason Ron Keller using flagstone donated by Mike Gerken of the Bluffton Stone Company. The concrete floor inside the barn was broken up and replaced with stone. The debris is filling the new bank.
The Morning Star cider press is, well, as old as Bluffton and Pandora. Owned today by Suter Produce and located on Road R, Pandora, it is now open for the season.
We found a story from the Aug 8, 1957, Bluffton News, that shares some background on the business. That information follows:
In 1957, Seth Basinger, 81-year-old Pandora farmer, has been in the business 42 years.
Seth went into the cider business with his friend and partner, Sam Amstutz.
