If Bluffton is a Swiss Community, Where are the Mountains? presented by Fred Steiner (R) on Monday, Oct. 17 @ 6:00 p.m. Fred takes you on a photographic journey to the Bluffton area as it was settled by immigrants in the 1830s. Presentation will cover Bluffton's Swiss heritage and the settlement that encompassed most of the rural area between Bluffton, Pandora, Columbus Grove and Beaverdam. Our Swiss immigrants were primarily farmers. Meanwhile, English and Irish immigrants, who settled in what became the village of Bluffton, were people with trade skills other than farming. The mix of each of these immigrant groups created the larger Bluffton community we live in today. One interesting fact that will be explored is that while many people think of the Swiss as Mennonites, who founded several churches in the Bluffton and Pandora communities, other Bluffton rural Swiss were members of the German Reform Church, which is today the United Church of Christ. Steiner will point out interesting features in the photos and maps and explain their location. Please register by October 14. Space is limited.
