We live in an era when many churches have elected to remove their bells due to the expense of maintaining them. Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church's bells at 301 North Main Street, Jenera, have sadly been silent for almost a year because they, too, needed serious repair. The church council chose to restore them and they rang on Sunday to announce the beginning of the church services as they have for 133 years.
The #9 seeded Pandora-Gilboa High School football team opened their 2022 playoff run on the road, overwhelming their hosts, the #8 seeded Upper Scioto Valley Rams (8-3), through the air and on the ground. Following a low scoring first half, the Rockets flew away, winning by a final of 42-8 in OHSAA Division VII Region 26 football action.
The Bluffton University men’s soccer team will host Manchester University at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 29 at Salzman Stadium for the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament opener.
Estée (Arend ’13) Hemphill, assistant director, service, for the Cleveland Guardians, will present the Forum “Impact Players: The Teammates Behind the Decisions,” at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 8 in Yoder Recital Hall.
The 2013 Bluffton graduate will draw on her experience working with the Cleveland Guardians to describe the honest and diverse conversations required to prepare for a successful baseball season.
What graduate in Bluffton High School (BHS) history has contributed more to athletics before and after his graduation than any other? My choice is Jim (Spike) Berry. This is his story. Today Spike lives with his wife Joyce in Bluffton. They have two children, Julie and Jay, and four grandchildren. Spike graduated from BHS in 1956. He was a good athlete in three sports: football, basketball and baseball.
Ron Lora played football and basketball with Spike and shared these reflections: "Spike and I were classmates in high school. We even roomed together at Bluffton University in Lincoln Hall. He was always upbeat, outgoing, and friendly–popular with all of our classmates and teammates. Spike understood the fundamentals of the sports he did. I asked him which sport he liked best. He said that whatever sport was in season, he liked that sport the best."
In high school Spike was a team leader. He played in memorable games. Bellefontaine was ranked either 1 or 2 in the state in basketball. There were two divisions then, A and B. They were in A and BHS in B. Bluffton defeated them. Willshire was undefeated and won the State tournament, but their closest game was with Bluffton, which was ahead 16 points at halftime. Willshire's 6 foot 11 inch center dominated in the second half and they won. Spike scored in double figures in both games.
