At 10 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 8: Q&A and display of Fett Hardware memorabilia with Ed Fett and family at Bluffton Senior Center, 132 N. Main St.

By Josiah Bergstrand

Fett Hardware, which opened in 1894 and was originally located at 127 N Main St, was one of the most prominent family-owned businesses on Bluffton's Main Street throughout its 92 years of operation. The store was opened by John Fett, a savvy businessman who also owned the Bluffton Slaw Cutter company and co-owned the Arris Cream Separator Company.

In 1910, Fett Hardware moved into a room in the Steiner building, which is now home to the Senior Citizens Center (132 N Main St). When Fett Hardware first moved in, it had to share the first floor of the building with the Baumgartner and Locher clothing store, which would later become Geiger and Diller's clothing store in the 1940s.

In 1915, the store's name was changed to "Fett And Sons" as John Fett's sons became more involved in the store's operations. After his father's death in 1926, Gilbert Fett bought out his siblings and took sole ownership.

After Gilbert retired, his son Maurice took over the business. Maurice Fett would go on to greatly expand Fett Hardware, occupying the entire first floor of the building. Maurice's son, Bob Fett, would go on to work for his father, making four generations of Fetts who worked at the hardware store.

In 1984, Maurice sold Fett Hardware to Bluffton Hardware, Inc. This group, made up of local businessmen, was not able to keep the store running for more than a year.

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A 1959 Dollar Days ad from the Bluffton News reveals what things brought shoppers to a hardware store then and now: garden hose and tools, sponge mops, extension cords, fans and grills. Other items are now rare or obsolete: wringer washer ($128), rotary mower ($77), percolator ($21.88), woven reed picnic basket ($2.33), galvanized garbage can ($2.88). All were sold with the tagline: “Try Fetts First.”

MORE ON HISTORY DAY

The Bluffton Ohio Historical Society will also display the cell that housed bank robber and gangster John Dillinger in the Allen County Jail in 1933. 

11 a.m. - Dan Gillett will host a Q&A and provide a display of Gillett Pastry Shop memorabilia with free sausage rolls (donations welcome).

12 p.m.- Q&A session with Hankish family members and display of shop memorabilia in the alley next to Bluffton Presbyterian church. The Hankish family will provide free ice cream and sweet treats from their family's recipe book (donations welcome). 

The Bluffton Ohio Historical Society has begun a $1.3M capital campaign to create a Bluffton History Museum on Main St. For more information, visit www.BlufftonForever.com.

The society meets at 7:00 p.m. on the second Wednesday of the month at the 1899 Depot at 405 N. Spring St., Buckeye Park.

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