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Founded in the fall of 1920, the Poinsettia Club is the second oldest continuously meeting women’s group in Bluffton. its motto is a quote from Madeline Briggs–“Give to the world the best you have and the best will come back to you.”

The club meets on the third Tuesday of each month–April through November–to share lunch, some laughs, a few brain teaser quizzes and at times a presentation by a local organization.

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On May 2, Bluffton High School senior Brianna (Bri) Taber signed a letter of intent to join the Ashland University Track and Field team in Pole Vault. The signing took place in the Bluffton High School gym.

Last season, Bri finished second in Ohio's Northwest Conferece, 2nd at regionals, and 8th in the Pole Vault at the State meet.

She is currently the Bluffton High School school record holder with a jump of 11’6.” During the 2023-2024 academic year at Ashland she plans to major in Biology/Pre-Med.

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The Bluffton American Legion Post 382 and Bluffton Lions Club have selected Bluffton High School students Gage Van Atta and Riley Greer to attend the Ohio American Legion Buckeye Boys State Class of 2023 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio from June 11-18.

The two young men have made a commitment to further their education on how the U.S. government works during the eight-day intensive education program.

Founded in 1936, Buckeye Boys State is the largest Boys State program in the nation with an attendance of over 1,200 young men annually, representing nearly 600 Ohio High Schools, several online high schools, and the home-schooled community.

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Ada resident and former Bluffton High School teacher Gary Brown passed away on April 25; his obituary is HERE.

By Fred Steiner
www.blufftonforever.com

Pardon the following recollections. They may be hit-and-miss, because as M. Twain claimed “The older I get, the more clearly I remember things that didn’t happen.”

Funny how you continue to address your high school teachers as “Mr.”, “Mrs.,” or “Miss,” long after your own graduation in the world of adults.

Mr. Brown–also known as Gary Brown–is a perfect example. This past  winter I saw him in the bank, and said, “Hello, Mr. Brown,” as our conversation began. I’d never considered, “Hello, Gary.” That would have the broken unwritten rule number one between student and teacher. At least in my day.

Despite that, here’s what enters the adolescent caverns of my mind when recalling the “Mr. Brown file.”

First, he was unconventional. Junior high students appreciated that. He could joke with us, with a down-to-earth-like honesty.

He once told us that he’d prefer having a black snake in the house to keep the mice at bay rather than using mouse traps. That captured the class attention. Was he telling the truth? We believed so.

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The February Student of the Month at Bluffton High School was John-Paul Yoder, a junior with a 4.000 GPA. John-Paul is the son of John-David Yoder and Lynda Nyce of Bluffton. 

John-Paul is a member of the Academic Team, Spanish Club, Jazz Band, Pep Band and is an SOS tutor. He was on the Cross Country team and the Basketball team.

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The following article is being shared in memory of Katie Laine by her sister Suzanne Hilty Lind and originally appeared on the blog of writer Greta Holt. Katie's obituary is HERE.

Katie graduated from Bluffton High School in 1966. After the death of her birth mother, Eleanor Keeney Myers in 1949, she grew up in Corpus Christi, TX with her father, George Myers, her brother George Myers, Jr., her stepmother Hannelora, and five half siblings. George and Katie's baby sister, Suzanne (Susie) stayed with the Herman and Celia Hilty family in Bluffton after the death of their mother and was later adopted into the HIlty family. Following a time of disruption in the Myers family in Texas, Katie moved to Ohio and lived with the Hilty family for six years, attending Bluffton Junior and Senior High School. She returned to Texas for university studies and raised family and developed her career there. The two sisters became close friends and continued a loving, often hilarious relationship throughout their adult lives. 

September 8, 2020

My friend (since 6th grade!), Greta Purves Holt, has been writing for many years. I was sharing some writing I was doing with her and she invited me to be a guest writer on her blog. Here is the story I wrote about experiences my German stepmother had during WWII in Nazi Germany.

By Katie Myers Laine
https://gretaholtwriter.com/2020/09/07/through-my-mothers-eyes/

All that came to be in my life began with what occurred to my two mothers.

In 1949 my birth mother, paternal grandmother and paternal great-grandmother were killed in a car accident.  They were buried on my second birthday.  My father, a WWII veteran (paratrooper), left after her death.  When he returned, he had married a German woman, and she became my stepmother.  They arrived in America, the promised land, on July 4, 1951, the nation’s birthday.

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