Local pair’s year-long effort results in a comprehensive history of Bluffton’s iconic restaurant
By MARK MILLER
Kenny Steffen was skeptical. He had heard the question before — at least a couple of times.
So when he was approached by Rhonda Ryan and Doris Chartier, seeking his assistance in compiling a history and recipes of the famed Dutch Mill Restaurant, “he kind of brushed us off at first,” Ryan said.
That was about a year ago. At some point, after a few more phone calls, when the ladies returned to ask more questions, he began to take them seriously.
“That’s when he brought out several boxes,” Ryan continued. Those boxes included a number of old menus but only a few pictures. The bulk of Steffen’s records were lost in the December 1997 fire that destroyed the iconic Bluffton restaurant that Steffen had owned and operated since 1990. His tenure there, however, began at age 13 as a dishwasher in 1950.
The end result — “a labor of love,” Chartier said — is a 140-page hard-cover book simply titled “The Dutch Mill.” Hot off the press, the book will be available during the upcoming Bluffton Free Street Fair.
Steffen uses the words “tickled” and “proud” as he went through his first full reading.
“The girls mentioned me a few times too many,” he added. “And yes, I doubted them at first, but they really came through.”
The birth of the book began almost exactly a year ago. Wells County native Doris (Brinneman) Chartier was living in Lancaster Township, Penn., but planning a return to her hometown. She is a member of a Facebook group titled “You’re definitely from Bluffton if you remember…” She noticed that whenever the Dutch Mill was mentioned, “there were numerous comments posted” about the food, memories and stories.
“I just thought this would be a neat thing to work on and I knew exactly who to call,” Chartier continued. She and high school friend Rhonda (Johns) Ryan — Southern Wells Class of ’69 — had stayed in touch. “I knew she knows everyone.”
“So she called me one day and asked if I’d be interested in helping to round up some Dutch Mill recipes and contact Mr. Steffen,” Ryan said. So one day in September 2021 she knocked on Steffen’s door.
Once Chartier had completed her previously-planned move back to Bluffton, the two began their research. That began in the courthouse, looking through land records for purchase dates.
“We wanted to make sure our history was accurate,” Ryan said.
They began utilizing social media and visits to area nursing homes to talk with any former employee they could find.
“We quickly discovered that while many people had worked at the Dutch Mill over the years,” Ryan said, “many of them stayed because they loved their jobs. Very few worked there for only a couple years.”
They heard stories of how the pie bakers arrived at 4 a.m., stories about famous people who dined at the Dutch Mill, stories of how Steffen and his previous owner, Glen Moser, created a “true family” of workers there. They discovered that a number of those old menus were designed by noted local artist Harry Lindstrand.
“One time, a customer asked why they didn’t have oyster stew on the menu,” Ryan shared. “The waitress went to Kenny, who knew there were some oysters in the freezer. One of the cooks, Ethel Gillum, said she knew how to make oyster stew,” which was soon placed in front of the grateful guest.
“It was so much fun to find those stories and get them into the book,” she added.
The two friends found many people willing to help in their project. Ed Schwartz, who created Oak Creek Media publishing company as an outgrowth of his work at Loving Shepherd Ministries, “was such a huge help,” Chartier said. Glen Moser’s family contributed many details and local artist Nancy Wagner added some illustrations.
“We had to purchase several pictures off the internet, plus a story and a picture from an old feature that the Indianapolis Star had done,” Ryan explained.
“Our biggest helper was Jason Habegger at the library,” Ryan quickly added. He had started a file of Dutch Mill pictures and stories a number of years ago to include in the library’s local history room. He had even interviewed Steffen and a few other people, Ryan said, who described Habegger’s assistance as “a game-changer.”
“Kenny was also known for his floats at the Street Fair,” Ryan said. He built a windmill one year and made a salad bowl float another. “When he introduced broasted chicken on his menu,” she added, “he built a big chicken to put in the parade.”
Which makes how the pair will promote their book appropriate. Steffen will be riding through the fair’s Opening Night Parade, accompanied by a number of former workers in Dutch Mill aprons. The book will be available for purchase all week in the Industrial Tent, where slices of sugar cream pie will also be available to purchase.
These pies will be made by Barb Schwartz, Ryan and Chartier explained, who once worked at the Dutch Mill but has since made her own mark in the local restaurant business. Schwartz recently sold the Corner Depot restaurant on Bluffton’s south side, but continues a catering business in Vera Cruz along with her daughter Sarah.
The book includes a list of all the people who once worked at the Dutch Mill, but the pair are already aware they their efforts did not include everyone.
“We keep running into people who have stories,” Ryan said, “and just the other day, someone said ‘I once worked there, too.’
“I firmly believe that there’s not a person in Bluffton who has not been a part of the Dutch Mill’s history in one way or another,” Ryan said.
“It has played such a huge role in so many of our lives,” Chartier added. “Birthdays, anniversaries, wedding parties, and I think all the service clubs met there.”
“With 12 dining rooms,” Ryan said, “there was always room for everybody.”
miller@news-banner.com
