Dorchester Times: Times Still Seeking New Editor

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Times Still Seeking New Editor

The Dorchester Times is looking to restart its operations, if there is adequate support from community members.

If you or someone you know would be interested in reporting community news, updates and other important information on this website, please let us know. Just leave us a comment below or email us at Dorchester.Times@gmail.com.

If a new editor or editors are not found by Jan. 1, 2012, this website will be taken down.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...: Like to see you start up again but I just grew up in Dorchester and no longer live there. I wish you good luck with your start up. I've missed you for months.; September 1, 2011 12:16 PM
Anonymous said...: some one please start this blog back up again. since you have left issues are being swept under the rug. our streets issue got voted down by the board. they didn't even let the town decide on paving or not. also recently cooping sports with a neighboring town has come up because we have only a few kids out for athletics. for example this year FB team ended up with only 13 and next years team is rumored to only have 10 to 11 kids out. The VB team only had 10, they could not even scrimmage. I have been told by a reliable source that the wrestling team this year only has 4 and next year probably 2 to 3. both basketball teams our still hurting and the future does not look good for numbers. It seems that kids grow up playing, but when they get into high school they don't go out. any way please come back these are issues that the town needs to know about and the only way I feel that info can get out is through the blog. PLEASE COME BACK; October 27, 2011 10:50 AM

Join DACF Today

Want to make Dorchester an even better place to call home? Join the Dorchester Area Community Foundation. The Foundation has already spurred several community improvements, such as the city park renovation. For information on joining the Foundation, contact Carol Olson (Colson@farmersco-operative.com.) Membership is open to all, regardless of location. Dues are $20 annually or $250 lifetime. Make checks payable to: Dorchester Area Community Foundation, c/o Peg Bergmeyer, 101 Washington, Dorchester, NE 68343. You may specify the project or fund to which your donation should be directed.

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%).

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 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 first and only 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.

Dorchester 120 Years Ago

Here is a look at Dorchester 120 years ago, less than a decade after its founding, according to 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."

Times Comment Policy

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If you wish to receive a direct response from the Dorchester Times, please e-mail us at dorchester.times@gmail.com. It should be noted that all comments on this blog are the responsibility of the commenter, not the Times staff or its editors. By submitting a comment to the Times, you agree that the comment content is your own.

Dorchester Times

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Times Still Seeking New Editor

2 comments:

TIMES POLL: Do You Plan On Catching Up With Old Dorchester Classmates Over The Holidays?

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

TIMES POLL: If You Could Pick Only One Of The Following, What Would You Like To See In Dorchester By 2012?

Dorchester Homes For Sale

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Join DACF Today

Current Dorchester Demographics

Previous Stories

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Important Links

Dorchester: A Good Little Family Town

A Village with History

Dorchester Historical Facts

Dorchester 120 Years Ago

Dorchester Items On Ebay

What Are We Forgetting?

PAST READER SURVEYS

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Times Comment Policy