Historical Bluffton

Famous BHS alumnus: Caretaker of the world's largest organ

Section: Historical Bluffton

/ Mar 24, 2024

By Fred Steiner
www.BlufftonForever.com

Roscoe Evans
April 21, 1889-Sept. 13, 1968

Bluffton has a long history of persons with outstanding musical talents. But only one, Roscoe Evans, can claim he tamed the king of instruments, the organ. He spent 23 years of his career as caretaker of the world's largest organ.

Born in Delphos, Roscoe Evans' family moved to Bluffton where Roscoe attended Bluffton schools until his high school years. However, the Evans family moved from Bluffton to Van Wert in 1905. Had the family remained here, he would have graduated with the class of 1907.

Prior to moving to Van Wert, his father, John B. Evans, operated a livery stable in a barn that was originally located on the property that today houses The Curling Iron at 129 N. Main Street.

BHS alumni and pioneer aviatrix

Section: Historical Bluffton

/ Mar 10, 2024

By Fred Steiner
www.BlufftonForever.com

Dorothy “Dottie” Anderson
Jan. 7, 1926 – Dec. 8, 2012
Member BHS class of 1947

Dorothy “Dottie” Anderson took her first airplane ride when she was eight years old, a few years before Amelia Earhart launched an around-the-world flight attempt.

Anderson’s love of flying turned into a career, describing it this way: ‘From the time I saw my first airplane that was all I talked about. I can’t remember the time that I did not want to fly.”

As a member of the Bluffton High School graduating class of 1947 she did more than talk about flying. She learned to fly airplanes before she learned to drive automobiles. And, she built her own airplane, but that comes later in her story.

The first Bluffton Pirate

Section: Historical Bluffton

/ Mar 03, 2024

8th in a series about famous BHS alumni

By Fred Steiner
www.BlufftonForever.com

May 7, 1912 - Jan. 25, 2013
BHS class of 1929

Question: Why is the Bluffton High School mascot a pirate?

Answer: Because of John Hartzler, member of the Bluffton High School class of 1929. While some say it takes a village to make a child, For Bluffton, it took a John Hartzler to make us Pirates.

But, there’s much more to Hartzler’s story than the naming of the BHS school mascot, as that explanation comes later. This lanky 6-foot-5-inch athletic and talented musician, following college, was an extremely popular high school teacher and school administrator, eventually becoming assistant school superintendent of the Akron City Public Schools.

Judge and Mayor Ralph S. Locher

Section: Historical Bluffton

/ Feb 25, 2024

By Fred Steiner
www.BlufftonForever.com

Ralph Sidney Locher

July 24, 1915 – June 18, 2004
1932 Bluffton High School graduate
1936 Bluffton College graduate

Using politic jargon, he’s Bluffton’s Favorite Son.

First BHS women to become physicians, take two

Section: Historical Bluffton

/ Feb 18, 2024

CORRECTION Missing link at story's end has been added.

By Fred Steiner, Icon founder
www.BlufftonForever.com

Dr. Rosella Louise Biederman Boehm, M.D.
Born: March 12, 1897, Died: Nov. 8, 1955
Bluffton High School class of 1914
Bluffton College class of 1919

Declaring Dr. Mary Alice Howe Thomas as the first female Bluffton High School graduate to become a physician proves that nothing is ever certain.

Last week we stated that Dr. Thomas, BHS 1940, holds this title. Soon after this story was posted, we discovered two earlier female physicians who lived in the Bluffton School district. They are:

Rosella L. Biederman Boehm, (1897-1955), 1914 Bluffton High School graduate, who became a physician in 1925.

Ida Eby, (1881-1960), who attended the Diller county school, part of the Bluffton system in Richland Township, who became a physician in 1919. We will focus on Ida in a later feature, as we continue to collect details about her medical career.