Bluffton Ohio Historical Society wants to save Rudolf Althaus general store

By Paula Pyzik Scott

On May 21, Bluffton historian and Icon founder Fred Steiner returned to his hometown to provide a program on the Althaus-Amstutz-Hahn-Steiner family, drawing a full house to the Bluffton Public Library lower level. The presentation was conversational and pictorial: he provided dozens of images of the people, places and artifacts in his story.

Steiner drew a broad picture of where and how his ancestors lived and shared a personal account of connecting with a fourth cousin who lives in Switzerland, Heinrich Althaus. The details held special interest for those in the audience who are part of Steiner’s family tree or also have Swiss roots. The program also provided an interesting look at life in Bluffton during the mid-late 1800s and early 1900s.

The program was promoted by the Bluffton Ohio Historical Society, which is interested in saving a small wood frame building that was built by Steiner’s great grandfather Rudolf Althaus. It stands across the street from St. Mary Catholic Church on Elm near Lawn St. The building, which is one of the oldest in the village, was used as an art studio, general store and music store by several generations of Steiner’s family. Steiner provided the program in support of a campaign to raise funds and find a location for the building.

One of the first questions Steiner answered was why did the Swiss families of the Bluffton-Pandora area leave their homeland? The Napoleonic wars were one reason. A shortage of farmland and several years of devastatingly bad weather were other factors.

Steiner pointed to a relatively small area in Switzerland which Swiss Anabaptist and German Reformed families left to settle in what is now Richland Township. Initially, the families farmed and continued to speak Swiss German.

Some 50 years later, the Village of Bluffton was booming and the Swiss settlers were moving into town, creating businesses and becoming bilingual. One sign of the boom was the proliferation of saloons: at one time there were 13 saloons in our downtown. Ads in the Bluffton News provide other signs that Bluffton wasn’t such a sleepy little town: the Fourth of July celebration in 1890 featured a high-wire acrobat and two balloon ascensions.

Steiner described how he grew up living next door to his grandparents, who had a wealth of family heirlooms including paintings by Rudolf Althaus and letters received from his family in Switzerland. Althaus sold paintings of Swiss scenes to Swiss-Americans. Later his grandson Lester Hahn would sell recordings of Swiss music to their descendants from the same building. 

Oral history and news clippings inform Steiner’s stories which touch on the churches attended by various family members, brothers who resorted to beard-pulling over their political differences, and the business and musical talents of the men and women. Family lore says that Werner Althaus had a rose given to him by the Queen of England as a compliment to his skill on the cornet.

Rudolf Althaus visited Switzerland when he was 75 years old. Not only does a letter survive from his experience, Steiner now has the translation: “I am a stranger in my homeland,” it reads, “I am not able to speak of my feelings. Everything around me is old, small, pressed together and cosy. Due to moisture, everything is green and strong. And I am old.” His brothers Henry and Hans were there to greet him.

Rudolf’s letters can no longer be read by his English-speaking Bluffton descendants, making Heinrich Althaus’ translations a somewhat miraculous 21st century addition to the Steiner family story.

Towards the end of his presentation, Steiner showed a photograph of Rudolf Althaus’ store “sign”--which is in fact a painting that depicts some of the products sold. It allows any viewer to see that the store stocks candy, tobacco, clay pipes and cigars.

Thanks to Steiner’s grandparents, who he says never threw anything away, he has a remarkable number of artifacts as well as stories about Bluffton. Six generations of his family can now claim connections to the village. He credits his grandparents and the community with feeding his interest in local history. In this presentation, Steiner certainly returned the favor to his audience.

For those who would like to explore more local history, Steiner recommends the Musselman Library at Bluffton University, the Allen County Historical Society and the Bluffton News on www.chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ 

Steiner will make a second presentation at Bluffton Senior Center on June 5