Dorchester Times: Tyser Takes First Place In 2nd Annual Chili Cook-Off

Sunday, February 18, 2018

Tyser Takes First Place In 2nd Annual Chili Cook-Off

UPDATE: We've learned via comments on this site that Farmers Cooperative took first place in the judges' taste tests for Saturday's chili cook-off. Here are the full results according to reader comments:

* People's Choice: 1st - Tyser Autos/Repair; 2nd - Farmers Co-op; 3rd - Donna's Hair Creations.

* Judges' Choice: 1st - Farmers Co-op; 2nd - Donna's Hair Creation; 3rd - Tyser Autos/Repair.

* Cinnamon rolls: 1st - Andrea Pracheil; 2nd - Tiffany Bergmeyer; 3rd - Big T's.

Greg Tyser, owner of Tyser Repair and Tyser Auto Sales, was the "people's choice" winner of the February 17 Dorchester Volunteer Fire Department's second annual chili cook-off.

Tyser's homemade chili was voted best among nine local businesses that competed in the event.

The event was held at Dorchester's Community Hall and American Legion Hall.

Approximately 300 people attended, according to figures quoted to the Times.

The above average temperatures, which surpassed 50 degrees on Saturday afternoon, helped bring the masses to downtown Dorchester.

Parking was difficult to find throughout much of the night, with well over 100 cars at any given time jammed in a two-block area, including in the middle of main street and on side roads.

The cook-off was a major fundraising event for Dorchester's volunteer firefighters and rescue personnel, providing much needed funds for new equipment and to help cover expenses.

This year's event was the first to showcase a people's choice award, as well as a cinnamon roll contest.

Those who attended were able to sample an amazing array of several different chili soup concoctions, as well as participate in a raffle drawing for prizes.

The winner of the first cook-off in 2017 was Brant Pracheil.

4 comments:

AnonymousFebruary 18, 2018 at 11:52 AM
So who are the winners for the chili cook-off in the cinnamon rolls
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AnonymousFebruary 18, 2018 at 9:22 PM
who won everything else
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AnonymousFebruary 19, 2018 at 2:40 PM
I know Farmers Cooperative won first place Chili, according to the judges. Donna's Hair creations was in the top 3 in both judging and peoples choice. Winner of the cinnamon rolls was Andrea Pracheil.
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AnonymousFebruary 19, 2018 at 4:44 PM
The cook off had 8 local businesses. Holly Well Drilling, Smith Farmyard Finds, Olson Graphics, BP Agronomics, COOP, City Slickers, Donna's Hair Creations, and Tyser Repair.
People's Choice: 1st: Tyser 2nd: COOP 3rd: Donna's
Judging; 1st: COOP 2nd: Donna's 3rd: Tyser
Cinnamon rolls: 1st: Andrea Pracheil 2nd: Tiffany Bergmeyer 3rd: Big T's
ReplyDelete
Replies

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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."