Iconoclast View

Helen Pyatt on left, Pauline Hirschler on right

Two residents of Mennonite Memorial Home, Bluffton, reached the century mark recently, according to Rhonda Wolpert, MMH administrator.

The two are Helen Pyatt, who turned 100 on Oct. 21 and Pauline Hirschler, who turned 100 on Dec. 20.

Helen Pyatt
Helen was born in Bedford, Pa., and moved to Salem, Ohio, when she was 12 years old. In 1982 she moved to Ada. Helen has two daughters, Betty Lyons of Ada, and Marjorie Clingerman of Parker, Colo. She also has three grandsons.

Need a really great last-minute Christmas gift idea? The Icon has an entire bag full of ideas and the best part is that you don't need to drive to the mall to make the purchase. You don't even need to surf the Internet and pay one-day delivery prices.

The Icon offers viewers its annual survey of Bluffton-made products or products that say "Bluffton." These are available at very reasonable prices. Each makes a unique Christmas gift.

Here goes:

The Icon welcomes its newest advertiser - Gary's Repair, located at 2667 Road P, between Bluffton and Pandora.

Owned by Gary Augsburger, the store has several interesting Christmas specials for the person interested in "green" gifts. These include a wide selection of cordless yard tools.

The store telephone number is 419-384-7303. Click here for the website.

Here's an "it's a very small world" story, if there ever was one. Can any viewer identify what these two men have in common? The Icon spotted this conversation prior to Monday's all-elementary Christmas concert in the BHS gym.

Here's the story behind the photo:

On the left is George Denecker, father of Greg Denecker, Bluffton superintendent. He is talking with Dick Jordan of Bluffton.

Encore! Icon viewers response to the Handel "Messiah" video was overwhelming. And, yes, we have one encore. We share this video of "Behold, the Lamb of God." This portion of Sunday's performance was the first number following the intermission.

Bluffton University presented its 116th performance of Handel's "Messiah" on Dec. 11, in Founders Hall. Dr. Mark J. Suderman, professor of music and director of choral activities at the university, conducted the oratorio for the 11th time at Bluffton, where he has taught since 2000.

Dennis Morrison took these photo on Dec. 10. The project involved members of the Bluffton Boy Scout troop 256 with their leaders, under the direction of Dick Boehr.

The project involved probing for and recovering cemetery markers in the Jefferson Street cemetery. Some of the markers have been buried since State Route 103 was constructed and are possibly under the street.

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