Dorchester Times: Update On City Park Shelter Project

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Update On City Park Shelter Project

Take a walk or drive past the Dorchester City Park and you'll notice that construction has begun on the new park shelter. This is one of the first projects initiated by the Dorchester Area Community Foundation (DACF) -- not to be confused with the Dorchester Area Community Association (DACA), despite that many of the same people are involved.

About three years ago, a small group of Dorchester residents established DACF. The members made a wish list, which was topped by hopes for a new park shelter. DACF members began an energetic fundraising project to replace the old shelter, as grant proposals were written, fund raisers were held, and donation letters were sent. Since then, many residents, former residents and DHS alumni have contributed to this project.

According to DACF secretary Peg Bergmeyer, the Foundation also received a $16,200 matching grant from the Nebraska Game and Parks by proving there was a local recreation need for the new shelter. The initial bid for the 30’x 40’ shelter was $39,000. The shelter will feature a concrete floor and gable roof, with lighting and electrical sockets, plus storage for serving tables. The plan also provides for eight picnic tables and two permanent grills.

Bergmeyer said that while there are adequate funds for the shelter construction to begin, donations are still needed for extras such as landscaping and additional sidewalks to the existing restrooms.

For those wishing to help with this important project, engraved bricks are still available through July 31 to anyone who donates between $100 and $250 to the shelter project. More than 130 bricks have been ordered to date. Also, picnic tables can be sponsored by donating $750 for a table or $375 for a half table. Send donations and brick engraving details to DACF, P.O. Box 115, Dorchester, NE 68343.

All donations to the Foundation are tax deductible and can be specified for a specific fund or to the general fund. To learn about donation options and benefits, contact Peg Bergmeyer at pegbergmeyer@yahoo.com or 946-2471.

The Foundation is already planning its next project of “Welcome to Dorchester” signs. More information will be forthcoming, Bergmeyer said.

3 comments:

AnonymousJuly 11, 2007 at 2:02 PM
That's called leadership. Good to see DACA and DACF put the wheels in motion.
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AnonymousJuly 12, 2007 at 9:07 AM
We need to get kids helping with this project. I worry that this will be the target of vandalism, just like the restrooms and park play equipment. It would be wonderful to see a morning in late August where the elementary and jr. high classes help put some of the finishing touches on the place, so they have some ownership.
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AnonymousJuly 13, 2007 at 10:23 AM
In response to 90's grad - The Foundation members have hopes of removing the old park shelter (the Ball Assn would like to use it at the ball field) and replace it with a small wooden cover for just 2 of the existing tables to be used by parents or small gatherings while the play equipment is being utilized. A call has been placed to the school & a message left for the Industrial Arts teacher if a project like that could be worked into a class. We have also noticed how many kids played in the sand that was left over from the sand VB court. We have also asked that he consider building a sand box for the park. The landscaping hasn't been decided yet, maybe each class would like an ongoing project (a tree, some flowers etc). We're open to suggestions, the park belongs to the community, we are only leaders at this point.
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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."