By Kaye Phillips
Swiss Community Historical Society

Thank you to Diane Dillman Elshire and Jim Dillman for donating a set of 11 beautiful trays that once belonged to their grandmother, Ella Luginbuhl Dillman to the SCHS to use in the Heritage Center kitchen. 

Diane and Jim told of the trays being used to serve refreshments for Sunday School parties in Ella’s home on Zurfluh Road, Bluffton, Ohio. According to Diane, the Sunday School class would meet in members’ homes once a month.

The photo of the group of women below is the actual Sunday School class that Ella Luginbuhl Dillman attended at Ebenezer Mennonite Church. (Thank you to Nancy Crawford Spallinger for this memento.)

Note that during this time period, in the early 1900s, the women and men in our Swiss Settlement had separate Sunday School classes. It was not until the mid 1930’s that married couples could attend the same Sunday School class. All Sunday School classes for adults were held in the Sanctuary of the Ebenezer Church with the women sitting on the right and the men sitting on the left. With time, the rows of men and women in the front pews diminished. As late as the 1970’s, there were still some older church members following this tradition. As these members passed away, so did the tradition.

Not only are the trays beautiful, but the original box and label are unique. The trays were bought from the Stager Home Store on 309 North Main Street, Bluffton, Ohio. The trays were sent from the Joseph Hahn Company of Chicago, Illinois.

Ella E. Luginbuhl was born in 1893, the daughter of Amos Luginbuhl (1872-1959) and Sarah Zurfluh (1874-1972). Amos was the son of Johannes U. Luginbuhl (1841-1920) and Catherine Hilty Luginbuhl (1852-1886). Sarah Zurfluh (1874-1972) was the daughter of Abraham Zurfluh (1833-1923) and Marianna Ramseier Zurfluh (1832-1887).

Ella married Bud Henry Dillman (1881-1937), and they had two children, Donald (1917-1975) and Robert (1919-1995). Donald married Treva Martha Basinger (1918-2016), and they had three children: James Dillman, Diane Dillman Elshire and the late Marilyn Dillman Basinger.

Photographs from Diane Dillman Elshire, Nancy Crawford Spallinger and Kaye Phillips

For more updates from the Swiss Community Historical Society, visit www.SwissHistorical.org and Facebook.com/SwissCommunityHistoricalSociety

INTRODUCING "WORK IN PROGRESS" WEDNESDAYS