Dorchester Times: Looking Back on Our First 30 Days

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

Looking Back on Our First 30 Days

A month ago today, we unveiled the Dorchester Times. We have enjoyed bringing you the latest from Dorchester, Nebraska. And we look forward to posting many more stories in the days, months and years ahead.

But even more, we look forward to hearing from you. After all, the success of this publication will be determined by our readers. (You can always leave a message by just clicking on the “comments” link after each story. Readers are encouraged to use a pen name instead of signing with “anonymous.”)

To celebrate our first 30 days, we looked back at some of the more notable comments left by readers. Some comments made us laugh, some made us cry, and some made us red in the face. But we published them all and tried to keep our opinion out of the mix.

So without further adieu, here are some of the more memorable reader comments from our first 30 days:

On Dorchester and the Times…

"This is a great start to promote a nice community. Dorchester is almost like 'Cheers', in that 'everyone knows your name' (if you grew up there)."

"Dorchester is the bomb digitity…"

On Downtown…

"WILL SOMEONE PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE TEAR DOWN THE OLD CONNER'S GIFT SHOP & ROOFING BUILDING? AFTER 25 YEARS, IT AIN'T COMING BACK!"

"The grocery is a must have for every community. Thank you for keeping the store open."

"I would be ashamed to send friends to our downtown area in the shape it is in. Look how many people come to our July 4th celebration; it is just as good if not better than most community events around here. However, what does the appearance of the buildings say about us?"

On Proposed Improvements…

"We certainly could make a long list of improvements that need to be made. At the top of the list should be those that will attract younger, well-to-do families and secure a future for Dorchester."

“The new sign (town marquee) is a great improvement over the last one. In fact, in my lifetime, I would say that the sign is the biggest improvement in town. How sad is that?”

"Improvements are NICE but where will the money come from? Grants are out because our town folks are too wealthy and we do not qualify."

"If a swimming pool is needed, dig a big hole in someone's front yard."

On Paved Streets…

“If you had a curb on the streets, people would be less likely to drive onto their lawn so they could stagger three less steps into their front door.”

"Do I remember the picketers? NO! However, I do remember today, driving down muddy streets, dodging mud holes. I do remember never being able to open a window in my house because the dust from the gravel streets gets everywhere."

“I hope our leadership has realized that pavement is not a flash in the pan idea, just look and ANY of our neighboring communities.”

"Come on people, we had more growth back in the days, and they didn’t have paved streets. Paving is not going to bring new growth. Fix downtown and talk about streets later."

"Do I dare to ask what we accomplished by not paving? We kept our community stagnate..... No incentive for commercial or residential development. …The cost to our community has been greater by not paving."

On Dorchester Public Schools…

"Consolidate with Friend? And inherit their $500,000 debt? Not in this lifetime."

"Build the new school and watch a rebirth of the town's pride."

"I have strong feelings...we don't need a new school...we need to take care of the one we have."

"Without the Dorchester school system, the community will fall apart. Families will leave and the town will probably become very poor."

"The future of District #44 depends on planning for the future, growing not just surviving."

General Comments…

"Our appearance needs to be as great as the people in Dorchester. Let's work on an environment that will allow us to keep our young people and possibly invite ones that have left back."

"Sticks in the mud make lousy pathways to the future."

"Time for leadership in the Village, not just nay saying!"

"Small town life is like wearing a dirty diaper: You can sit in your own stink and blame others or you can get up and change yourself."

And finally, our favorite comment came from 'Crete Guy' on the first story we ever posted…

“I didn't know there was enough news to report in Dorchester.”

3 comments:

AnonymousMay 9, 2007 at 7:04 PM
My feelings are hurt. I didn't make the list. Time to grab a beer and drown my sorrows.
ReplyDelete
Replies
AnonymousMay 11, 2007 at 11:07 PM
hey.....who is running this sight...........it seems like the people who are running this could make it alot more succesful if they would let everyones opinion be heard. This is just a place for people to complain...its easy to do when you dont have to put a name to it....
We can sure blast our neighbors in friend and that is ok, but when someone in the village is critized we leave that one off the list. Lets be fair and follow the rules you have set...........suppose the friend people dont let us use their churches, hospital,doctors, stores..........then we would be complaining
ReplyDelete
Replies
Village DwellerMay 11, 2007 at 11:16 PM
To the anonymous writer above:

We publish every comment that is printable. Keep it civil and it will made available for all to see. We promise.

Also, we encourage writers to put a name to their comments. Or at least a pen name.

Finally, as we have stated in the past, we are a group of concerned citizens. Nine of us, to be specific.

Keep reading and commenting. We do want to hear all sides.
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

Village Dweller checks all reader comments to determine if they are appropriate for print.

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."