Dorchester Times: July 4th Celebration Schedule Announced

Saturday, June 9, 2007

July 4th Celebration Schedule Announced

Anyone in Saline and adjoining counties will tell you that Dorchester has one of the finest small-community July 4th celebrations in the region.

Throughout the Fourth of July, residents and out-of-town visitors will find plenty of things to do in Dorchester, without having to fight the crowds of Seward or Lincoln. Of course, the day's highlight comes after dark with the renowned fireworks show, which has been pleasing crowds for more than a dozen years.

** Updated 6/18, 11:30 a.m. **

Here is the event schedule for the 2007 Dorchester Fourth of July Celebration:

7:30 a.m. .................................... Two-Mile Fun Walk (starts on Main Street)
8 a.m. ......................................... Breakfast (West Side Saloon)
10 a.m. ....................................... Show & Shine (Main Street). Tractors and vehicles welcome. Contact Shelley Bruha, John Palky or Loren Vyhnalek.

11 a.m. - 7 p.m. ......................... Sons of the American Legion BBQ (Legion Hall)
1 p.m.-4 p.m. .............................. Book Swap (Community Building)
2 p.m.-4 p.m. .............................. Bingo (Community Building)
2 p.m.-4 p.m. .............................. Bounce House for the Kids (City Park)
3 p.m. ......................................... Kiddy Tractor Pull (City Park)
3 p.m.-7 p.m. ............................. Girl Scouts Craft Booth (City Park)
4 p.m. ......................................... Taekwondo Demo (City Park)

5 p.m.-7 p.m. ............................. Mr. Jones Train Rides (Main Street)
5 p.m.-7 p.m. ............................. Music by Shawn Cole, One Man Band (City Park)
5:30 p.m.-7 p.m. ........................ Jr. Auxiliary Ice Cream Social (City Park)

7:30 p.m. ................................... Parade (Main Street)
9:30 p.m. ................................... Taekwondo (Football Field)
At Dark ..................................... Fireworks (Football Field) ** Rain-Out Date: 7/7 **

The Dorchester Area Community Association (DACA) takes on the difficult task of organizing events and raising funds for our annual celebration. If you would like to assist financially to ensure that this proud tradition continues, please send donations to: DACA, 1146 County Road F, Dorchester, NE 68343.

15 comments:

AnonymousJune 9, 2007 at 4:34 PM
This is one of Dorchester's best events throughout the year ..........thanks to all the groups who participate.
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AnonymousJune 9, 2007 at 6:26 PM
Dorchester's fireworks display beats out Seward--the July 4th City--any day!!! At dark on the 4th, you'll find me in DORCHESTER!!!
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AnonymousJune 9, 2007 at 10:20 PM
Maybe some of the money the city is collecting from the weekly Cinco de Mayo parties at the Community Bldg can go to the firework display.
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AnonymousJune 10, 2007 at 8:38 AM
ok anonymous--YOU are part of this town's problem. These folks that rent the community building are part of our community--they are spending their money in our town and you criticize them for doing that???

I hope they enjoy our 4th of July celebration just like everyone else will.
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AnonymousJune 10, 2007 at 9:51 AM
hey qwerty. don't get mad at me. some of the huggy, feely types in crete said the same thing as you 10 yrs ago. most of them have since flew the coop. that's all.
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AnonymousJune 10, 2007 at 2:09 PM
"Can't we all just get along?"
-Rodney King
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AnonymousJune 10, 2007 at 7:42 PM
Oh believe me, I'm no huggy, feely type. I just think its hard enough to feel like part of this community without all of the race crap coming into play.
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AnonymousJune 10, 2007 at 7:44 PM
whats the difference wether is mexian music down town or polka bands at tabor.

Another example of some people who dont have a clue.
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AnonymousJune 10, 2007 at 10:00 PM
What's the difference between polka at Tabor or Mexican music at the Community Hall? Send in a federal immigration agent and see which group scatters.
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AnonymousJune 11, 2007 at 1:45 PM
Two comments here.... #1 - this Times article is about our fireworks display -- which I believe is the best around!! Lots of time and dollars go towards this project and I would like to join the horn of '74 for thanking all involved. #2 - We had readers thinking that posting pics of neglected homes/yards was inappropriate....personally, I think the racial comments are inappropriate. The Community Bldg is a public facility for rent by the public--we cannot discriminate...I sure wouldn't want them to refuse renting it to me because I'm old.
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AnonymousJune 12, 2007 at 11:33 AM
I agree with "anonymous" above ........ I want to see the documentation showing that at least half of those at the "Cinco De Mayo" party are in this country legally ........... If they are illegal immigrants (and I'll bet my left foot that most are), they NOT citizens of Dorchester ....... worse, they are TRESPASSING ON CITY PROPERTY. I'd be interested to see if the city is checking for their citizenship papers or green cards.....................
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AnonymousJune 12, 2007 at 12:47 PM
Enough with all the talk about the Hispanics and the Community Center. This article was supposed to talk about our 4th of July celebration and somehow we got way off track. Let's leave all the discrimination aside and focus on the positiveness this yearly celebration brings to our community.
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AnonymousJune 12, 2007 at 2:44 PM
Dorchester has some of the loudest fireworks around as part of its display. They literally shake the ground. We also enjoy the patriotic music in the background as the fireworks go off. We have caught the show for the past five years and plan on doing so again this year. Our relatives from Friend also attend.
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AnonymousJune 14, 2007 at 7:35 AM
Do we need to pre-register for the 2 mile fun walk or just show up?
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AnonymousJune 17, 2007 at 10:11 PM
In response to anonymous on the Fun Walk: No, you do not have to register. It is just for fun & exercise. The walk will not be timed. Just show up with your family, friends or dog (as long as the dog is friendly) or show up alone & walk with others.
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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."