Bluffton man talks Dillinger bank robbery

FINDLAY — The Hancock Historical Museum's monthly Brown Bag Lecture series will be held at noon Thursday. Fred Steiner will present "Four Guys Walk into a Bluffton Bank …", about John Dillinger's historic raid on a bank in Bluffton. Steiner, an author and retired journalist, said Dillinger and his gang robbed Citizens National Bank of Bluffton of $2,100 on Aug. 14, 1933. That five-minute episode became the story of the century for Bluffton residents. He will talk about the robbery and share eyewitness accounts and other stories that have evolved into oral history form and some that have stretched the truth. Steiner is a lifelong Bluffton resident and Bowling Green State University journalism graduate. He is author of five Bluffton history books. For over 25 years, he edited the Bluffton News and later created the Bluffton Icon and Ada Icon, both community journalism websites. He retired in 2021. Steiner's website, Bluffton Forever.com, includes over 500 history-related photos and stories of Bluffton. He is a member of the Hancock Historical Museum, Swiss-American Historical Society and the Bluffton Swiss Community Historical Society. This is Steiner's third Brown Bag Lecture. The event is free for museum members and regular admission for nonmembers. No registration is necessary.