Dorchester Times: Where Are They Now?: Matt Burkey

Thursday, May 31, 2007

Where Are They Now?: Matt Burkey

We at the Dorchester Times thought our readers might enjoy an occasional update on the whereabouts of Dorchester High graduates. Today is the first in our "Where Are They Now?" series.

According to former Dorchester kindergarten teacher Susan Weber, 1996 DHS graduate Matt Burkey, son of Sid and Peg Burkey, has reached another milestone in his interesting trek since high school. Last week, Matt graduated from the medical school of John Hopkins University in Baltimore. For the next five years, he will be doing his residency in family medicine and psychiatry in Pittsburgh. Hopkins is one of America's elite universities, perennially ranked among the top 20 in the nation. We congratulate Matt on his impressive accomplishment.

If you know of other deserving DHS graduates who should be recognized in our "Where Are They Now?" series, send updates to Dorchester.Times@gmail.com

5 comments:

AnonymousMay 31, 2007 at 2:07 PM
Wow. Who says a small school can't prepare young people for the real world? Matt you have made your hometown and school proud.
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AnonymousMay 31, 2007 at 2:45 PM
for the editor(s):
technically, although a member of the 97 class, he graduated in 1996
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AnonymousJune 7, 2007 at 10:07 PM
Congrats to Matt and the entire Burkey clan. A total class act. Wish there were more like that in the community.
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AnonymousJune 11, 2007 at 2:00 PM
Way to go Matt Burkey!!!! Congratulations to you and your family -- what a fantastic accomplishment..of course, always knew you could do whatever you decided you wanted to do---even making chocolate chip cookies. All of here back home are VERY proud of you!!!!
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Realistic GradJune 14, 2007 at 4:13 PM
Dr. Matt is a credit to the school and his family -- we always knew he'd go far
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Dorchester: A Good Little Family Town

Dorchester, Nebraska (est. population 630) is located in northern Saline county. Close in proximity to Interstate 80, Dorchester is only 25 minutes from the state capital of Lincoln (est. population 250,000) and about 55 minutes from Omaha (metro population 725,000).

Dorchester's median resident age is 37 years. In 2005, Dorchester had a median family income of approximately $35,600. The median house value was about $63,000. About 95 percent of Dorchester residents commute to work via Interstate and highways.

The village has a quality public school, which received a $4.1 million expansion and modernization in 2008; it offers a small classrooms and individualized attention. Total enrollment of grades K-12 is around 230-250 students.

Ancestries of the Dorchester area are primarily German (42.4%), Czech (24.9%), Irish (12.5%), English (5.4%), and Dutch (4.9%).

Dorchester Historical Facts

* On July 4, 1871, the railroad reached Dorchester.
* Incorporated in 1881, Dorchester's population grew from 200 to 500 by 1882.
* In 1882, Dorchester had 90 buildings, 35 of which were businesses or public facilities. Brick buildings lined both sides of Washington Avenue for two blocks.
* Dorchester's longest-running newspaper was The Dorchester Star, which was published until the late 1940s.
* By 1889, Dorchester's population is said to have reached 800, while the town housed an opera house, a two-story brick schoolhouse with a bell tower, and four churches.
* By the 1910s, Dorchester had electricity, a water tower and a fire department.
* Dorchester's main arteries, Highways 6 and 33, were graveled in the 1940s.
* Dorchester's first irrigation well was drilled on Chris Weber's farm and rural electrification was finished following WWII.

A Village with History

Dorchester is one of the "alphabet towns" on the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad line built west from Lincoln. The town site was selected for its pleasant location in the northern part of Saline County, about eight miles west of Crete. This situation is an attractive one, being on the level prairie land, midway between the West Blue River and Turkey Creek. The first named stream is three miles north, and the latter about the same distance south from the town. Dorchester was platted in 1870 and incorporated in 1881. The name "Dorchester" came from either for a suburb of Boston by that name or a town in England. No one is sure. Two of the very first settlers were James Seely and Edward McIntyre, who both made Dorchester their permanent home.

Dorchester: In The Beginning

Here is a look at Dorchester around 1890, less than a decade after its official incorporation, as documented by Andreas' History of the State of Nebraska:
* POPULATION: "About 300, and is made up of a substantial and progressive class of citizens, who are moral and industrious. ... The town grew but very little until the year 1879, for the reason that Pleasant Hill, on Turkey Creek, a short distance south, was the county seat and naturally drew a trade for quite a large scope of country."
* BUSINESS: "The business and professional interests of the town are represented by three general merchandise stores, two drug, one grocery, one furniture, two hardware, and two millinery stores, one bank, two restaurants, two hotels, three livery stables, a post office, one newspaper office, two elevators, two lumber yards, two coal yards, two blacksmith shops, two lawyers and four physicians."
* SCHOOL: "The schoolhouse is a good one. The schoolhouse was built in 1872, since which time the public schools have been continually kept up. The present schoolhouse is 24' x 40' in size, two stories high. The school is graded and consists of three departments. The house is found too small, and arrangements will soon be made to increase its size."
* CHURCHES: "There are three substantial churches."
* HOMES: "The residence portion of the village is made up of neat houses of different styles of architecture, but none of them very large."
* NEWSPAPER: "The Dorchester Star, which was established August 21, 1881, by H. C. Bittenbender, who edited it until January 19, 1882, when he sold it to Ryerson & Bullock, the present proprietors. The Star is a bright weekly paper, five-column quarto, in size, and is Republican in politics."