The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1950-07-06

year when Fourth of July celebra-
tions were robust affairs with bands,
flags and spread eagle oratory and
boistrous bibulous celebrants and
pink lemonade stands, crying babies,
| young blades in stiff white high
collars and debs coyly twirling gay
parasols-when slacks were unheard
of-not to mention midriff bathing
suits-or automobiles-or vac sweep
| ers-or cokes-or filling stations
when the newlyweds went to house
keeping sin well furnished home"
not an apartment-when good
horses were tops on the road and
there were no installments coming
due on second hand cars-or elec-
trio refrigerators - you're right
times have changed.
But before you go pining for those
dear dead days, don't overlook what
you have in present-day Bluffton. For
instance-concrete sidewalks - time
was when there wasn't one in
town. The real snazzy spots had
walks to be sure-board walks
planks laid lengthwise, but most
places had nothing except mud IN
wet weather and dust in dry. Old
timers say that back some sixty
years ago mud was axle deep on
Main street in rainy weather and
travel was just a series OF splashing
from one puddle to another.
One of the greatest problems of
the town council in the SOS was to
keep Main street clear of hogs
which loved to disport themselves in
mudholes on the main drag. The
problem was finally solved in 1906
when Main street got its new look
with a spick and span brick pave
ment which was later torn up in
1927. One by one streets of the
town were hard surfaced until today
practically all are hardtopped with
wet or dry weather making little
difference to traffic.
And with Frontiers day adding
flavor to Buttons Fourth of July
celebration, we heard some of the old
timers in front of the News office
reminiscing-we listened in and here
are some of the scraps we overheard
as they recalled the days when the
young men about town sang Sweet
Adeline" in close harmony on moon
lit nights.
When the Biuffton Reds were one
of the hot city basketball teams in
this section battling for champion
ship honors with their arch-foes the
Lima White Stars.
When Wilson Hawk ran bus to
the Lake Erie and Western and
"Narrowgauge" depots.
| And Dode Murray was marshal
and ran dray line.
| And George Upton ran the Elk
restaurant-and also the band, with
Saturday night concerts on the
Presbyterian church yard.
And everyone went to the post
office to get the mail around I
o'clock after the evening train got
in.
When the town pump at the side
of the city building supplied most
of the drinking water for the down
town section-for long time they
had a heavy "tincup" chained to the
pump and water drained into a
| inearby--ssas9ete trough for horses.
When H. U. Gottshall, now in
Toledo, ran a pretzel factory.
When Charlie Hankish was line
man on the city football team and
Fred Zehrbach played in the high
| school backfeld.
And Bluffton was the home of the
| cream separator industry with three
| flourishing companies furnishing
employment for most of the towns
workers-the Arras, Boss and
Sanitary.
And no one ever heard of radios
income taxes, social security, tele
vision, electric refrigerators, sales
tax or airplanes when rubber
tire buggies were the smartest thing
| on the road and the Cedar Point ex-
| cursion in August was the high spot
| of the summer season-those Were
the days.