The Icon intended to write a column about Dan Groman, who is stepping down as the Bluffton Scoutmaster. Today we received this letter from a Scout family. It states much better what we had planned to say.
Our son, Taylor Jay, started in the Scouting World in the 7th grade. We thought, "Great, he will receive a few badges, go to camp and have fun."
Yes, this did happen, but there was so much more. Scoutmaster Dan Groman was no ordinary Scoutmaster; his passion for each and every boy was felt by all and was seen through his actions.
Word is getting out about Bluffton's police department. The word is something that village residents already knew: We have a excellent police force.
An American Red Cross Award now hangs on the wall in the Bluffton Police Department.
Rick Skillier, police chief, informed Bluffton council on Monday that the department was recently recognized by the Allen County Chapter of the American Red Cross.
Kirstie Runion is completing her semester as an Icon intern. We invited her to offer a comparison between Bluffton and her hometown - suburban Cincinnati. Here are some of her observations:
By Kirstie Runion, Bluffton Icon university Intern
As I write this column on Thursday evening (8:55 p.m.) the Mets and Rockies are hitting foul balls about a quarter of a mile to my east. I can see the lights of the field and a bit of the scoreboard from where I sit.
No, I'm not in Bluffton or anywhere even close to the 45817 zip code. I'm not watching the TV screen. Thanks to the World Wide Web, the posting of this column is coming from LaGuardia International Airport, NYC.
The year 1861 was a significant one for this community for several reasons. First, the unincorporated village of Shannon was renamed Bluffton. The name change was because another Shannon also existed in Ohio and the United States Post Office asked the younger of the two locations with the same name (us) to change it.
This, of course, took place in 1861, 150 years ago, thus we celebrate our sesquicentennial this year.
Here's a photo that falls into the "where in Bluffton was this fire?" category.
John Geiser, BHS grad, sent it to us recently. Here's what he says about the photo:
"I ran across some pictures when scanning slides left from my dad that have both my brother and myself puzzled. These were taken in the time frame of '61 to '63.
"My mom is standing in the one but the location is a mystery. I also have a couple pictures of dad's business from that era also. Notice the phone number on the spoon holder (advertising handouts in the late 1950's).
