In celebration of its 50th anniversary, The Swiss Community Historical Society of Bluffton and Pandora will hold two public events on the last weekend of June.

Saturday, June 26, there will be an open house at the society's newly restored 1843 Swiss Homestead, northwest of Bluffton at 8350 Bixel Road, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

On Sunday, June 27, beginning at 12:30 p.m. will be its annual Swiss Day, beginning with a potluck meal featuring traditional Swiss fare, a brief business meeting, anda program keyed to the society's history, all at Ebenezer Mennonite Church Fellowship Hall, followed by an observance at the society's historic house/homestead-farm site.

Saturday's open house (June 26) will include guided tours of the recentlyrestored 1843 Schumacher House as well as tours of other Homestead sites and buildings. Members of the public are encouraged to visit the Homestead June26 any time between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to enjoy the buildings, grounds, recently planted trees, along with complementary lemonade.

Sunday's schedule (June 27) begins with the potluck meal, where all attendees bring food to share, many dishes of which are traditional food
items of the local 19th century Swiss Settlement here.

Following the repastand a very brief business meeting will be the main program, reflecting on significant persons and events in the work of the Swiss Community Historical Society since its founding in 1959 to the present. This presentation will feature both historical perspectives and more recent events, including current work on the Schumacher House restoration project. Following that presentation, a choir composed of members and friends of the Swiss Community Historical Society, will perform a number of Swiss folk songs, hymns, and the Swiss National Anthem.

At the close of the program at Ebenezer Church Fellowship Hall, attendees and other interested persons will adjourn to the Swiss Homestead to celebrate completion of the Schumacher House restoration and for tours ofthe 1843 Schumacher House, the 1850s large barn, and the other Homestead structures, as well as the 1850 Swiss garden and the newly planted trees selected as typical for a Swiss farmstead of 150 years ago.

Both weekend events are free to the public. A voluntary offering will be received during Sunday's Swiss Day program.

The Ebenezer Mennonite Church is 2 miles west of Bluffton at the intersection of Columbus Grove-Bluffton Road with N. Phillips Road. The Schumacher/Swiss Homestead is located at 8350 Bixel Road, between the Phillips Road and Pandora Road.