By Monty Siekerman
The organizing committee of the Ada Historical Society decided the date for the annual meeting, elected several new board members, and learned that a website has been developed. The group met Monday evening at the Ada Public Library.

The annual meeting and membership drive will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, April 16, at Viva Maria’s. Dinner cost will be $15. Membership is open to anyone. Dues are $10 for an individual, $15 for a family, $25 for a business and $300 for a lifetime membership.

On Monday, the group elected Kathleen Anspach as vice president  and Paul Logsdon and Lee Crouse as board members. They join others who were elected earlier: Rhett Grant, president; Jon Umphress, secretary; Ruth Roider, board member. A treasurer and one more board member are yet to be elected.

Kathleen Anspach reported on the work she had done in setting up a website. The site can be viewed at AdaOhioHS.com. The Facebook page is still being constructed.

It was decided that the group will meet regularly at 6:30 p.m. on the third Monday of the month. About a dozen people have gathered at the library every month since last fall to organize the society. Anyone interested in learning more about the group is invited to attend the next meeting or write to the Ada Historical Society, in care of the Ada Public Library, 320 N. Main St., Ada, 45810. The group’s next meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. on March 19 at the library.

Fred Steiner, founder and owner of the Ada Icon and Bluffton Icon online newspapers, spoke on Monday. He described his recently-released book, “The Bluffton We Never Knew.” The book contains 170 photos taken in Bluffton between 1861 and 1911.

On March 19, Ohio Northern history professors are slated to talk about a local project that they and their students have been working on. They are attempting to identify Civil War veterans from Ada, then place their names and ranks on bricks near the foot of the cannon in Depot Park.

Photo: Viewing an 1879 Hardin County atlas owned by Ruth Roider are (seated, from left) Fred Steiner, Marsha Chadwick, Ruth Roider, Jennifer Grant; (standing) Joe Ferguson, Seth Krofft, Monty Siekerman, Tom Gossel, Lee Crouse, Rhett Grant, Jon Umphress. Paul Logsdon and Kathleen Anspach also attended.