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Stepping into a 1903 Bluffton barbershop

Posted by Staff on August 13, 2023 - 6:00am

Tine McGriff and Forest Mumma had over 100 customers

By Fred Steiner
www.BlufftonForever.com

What might you find if you stepped into a Bluffton barbershop at the turn of an earlier century?

Thanks to a recently discovered photo of the Tine McGriff Barbershop on Bluffton’s Main Street in 1903, several photo enlargements provide an excellent look inside this business of 120 years ago. The closer you look, the more things you see.

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Historical Bluffton
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Bluffton radio “Ham” traps voice of Russian Sputnik on tape recorder

Posted by Paula Scott on August 6, 2023 - 8:16am

By Fred Steiner
www.BlufftonForever.com

Remember Sputnik? Only if you were alive in October 1957.

Three stories in the Bluffton News that year reveal local fascination and questions about this first-ever successful artificial satellite.

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Historical Bluffton
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114 Fourth of July’s ago Jule Benroth set a Bluffton speed record

Posted by Staff on July 23, 2023 - 6:00am

By Fred Steiner
www.BlufftonForever.com

Imagine a hot air balloon ascension in Bluffton years before the Wright brothers flew the first airplane.

Imagine Bluffton’s first-ever automobile to hit a speed of 50 miles per hour–114 years ago–as an enormous crowd watched in awe.

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Historical Bluffton
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Years before 45817 existed, the story of Bluffton’s post office

Posted by Paula Scott on July 16, 2023 - 6:00am

By Fred Steiner
www.BlufftonForever.com

Six early Bluffton postmasters sat for this Will Triplett photograph in the 1930s.

This impressive group of men represent 66 years of postal service to the Bluffton community. During their eras, the post office was originally located in the town hall, then in early 1900 moved to Vine Street and later to the building housing Roots by Stratton's. Then, in the early 1940s the present post office building was constructed.

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Historical Bluffton
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Kibler and Grove before houses

Posted by Paula Scott on July 9, 2023 - 6:00am

Unusual snapshot reveals a forgotten Bluffton of 100 to 125 years ago

By Fred Steiner
www.BlufftonForever.com

Yes, this is a Bluffton street intersection. But, where? Only one clue reveals the location. A street sign on the right side of the intersection reads “GROVE ST.” A second street sign on the pole next to the Grove Street sign, not readable however, identifies what is today’s Kibler Street

A handwritten sentence on the photo’s back side confirms the location. It reads: Bentley Road and Grove Street Bluffton, Ohio – looking into Kibler Street.

Below the handwriting it is a stamped “Neu-Art Studio, photographers, Bluffton, Ohio.”

This photograph came from Paul Klassen, one of Bluffton’s oldest residents, today in his ninth decade.

CONTINUES

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Historical Bluffton
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Book burning in Bluffton 105 years ago

Posted by Staff on July 2, 2023 - 6:00am

Involving 40 Bluffton High School students during the noon hour

By Fred Steiner

Can you imagine a book burning frenzy in Bluffton? That happened exactly 105 years ago on the banks of the Big Riley, according to an account in the Bluffton News. 

The story from April 1918 Bluffton News:

The German text books used by the German classes in the high school were burned by a party of about 40 students Thursday afternoon.

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Historical Bluffton
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