If you were in Bluffton in 1961 then you had an opportunity to pay money for a raffle to win this car. Gene Benroth, the driving force behind the centennial and the car raffle, is in the driver's seat. The car was eventually won by Merl Watkins.
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Here's a photo from the 1961 Bluffton cenntennial. It is taken inside the Black county school, (still standing today). In 1961 it was at the corner of State Route 69 and State Route 103. Today 69 is 235.
The photo shows a "mock" class in session. The teacher is Mrs. Annie Pifer, who was once a teacher at the school.
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Here's a photo of the First Mennonite Church float at the Bluffton centennial (1961) parade. The float depicted two families - one a Bluffton pioneer family, portrayed by the Richard and Wanda Pannabecker family on the right, and, the second, by a modern family, portrayed by the Fred and Mary Amstutz family, on the left.
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Here's another 1961 Bluffton centennial photo. Ezra Moser and Archie Diller are demonstrating how to work a cider press. Leland Gerber photo.
