Historical Bluffton

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Looking at this photo reveals many things about Main Street Bluffton in 1960, the year the photo was taken.

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Here is a photo of the Bluffton fifth grade class taught by Sylvia Biederman in 1931-32.

Some of the students are identified:

Bottom row from left, Walt King, Ralph Matter,___, Lora Schultz, Betty Lewis, Junior Holden, Ivan Agin, Jack Clark, _____ John Lloyd.

Second row from left, Jason Triplehorn, ______, Elias Augsburger, _____, _____, _____, Brooks Root, Marcile Lora, Zietella Gettles.

Third row from left, Sylvia Biederman (teacher), Dick Pannabecker, Bob Luginbuhl, Wade Huber, Sam M______,LaVerne Huber, Wilma Nonnamaker, Betty Lape, Magdalene Oyer, _____.

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The Icon seeks some help from viewers to fill in the blanks of this First Mennonite Church junior choir photo. Our best guess for the year is 1961-62, figuring that the most of the members in the back row were in the sixth grade - making them high school seniors in 1967-68.

Wanda Pannabecker is the director standing in front of the choir.

Front row from left, Bev Balmer, Merri Brauen, David Reichenbach, Ken Cookson, Mary Purves, Sally Weaver, Mary Lehman, Becky Lehman, Roger Luginbuhl, Bill Amstutz, _____.

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It was 1910.

William Howard Taft from Ohio was the U.S. president. Women did not yet have the right to vote. The Philadelphia A's defeated the Chicago Cubs in the World Series. Thomas Edison introduced his kinetosphone, which made talkies a reality. Halley's comet is observed photographically for the first time.

Here is a photograph taken by R.E. Basinger of the Pandora High School that year. Sorry to say we have no IDs of students, but if your family has a 100-plus year history in Pandora and if you examine this photo closely you may recognize a great-great grandparent.

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It is believed that this photo of Pandora was taken in 1912. The photo shows 12 large wagon loads of sugar beets. The crop was brought in to Pandora by horses. To the right is the Northern Ohio Railroad, later Akron, Canton and Youngstown Railroad.

We believe this photo looks west and that the track heads toward Columbus Grove. If that is the case, the road on the other side of the depot is today Jefferson Street, Pandora.

Several additional points in the photo, include what appear to be milk containers at the railroad depot.

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We asked the Icon photographer for a bird's-eye view of Bluffton and he apparently flew over the wrong community.

Here's how neighboring Ada appeared from a bird's-eye view 63 years ago. The photo was published in Ada's 1953 centennial booklet.

There are 15 buildings identified in the legend at the bottom of the photo.

 

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