Dorchester Times: More Than 170 DHS Alumni Gather At Tabor Hall

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

More Than 170 DHS Alumni Gather At Tabor Hall

More than 170 DHS alumni and guests gathered Saturday at Tabor Hall for the annual alu

mni banquet. Among the evening's highlights was the display of items recovered

from the cornerstone of the 1927 school.

Former physical education instructor and coach Larry Gish was the banquet's keynote speaker. A few former teachers were also in attendance, according to reports, including former business instructor Lois Williams; former principal and teacher Terry Gautreaux; and former art instructor Jan Stehlik. The oldest alumnus attending the event was from DHS' class of 1933, while several members from the class of 2008 also took part in the special evening.

The Times has been informed that Tom Scheffert -- who heads the school's alumni association operations -- gathered five volunteers for the bell monument committee. The old school bell, which once sat atop of the 1890 school, was part of a monument that stood near the 1927 school until about 20 years ago. The bell is currently in storage and will be featured as part of a new monument when the current school construction is complete.

This year's honored class -- the class of 1988 -- held a family picnic at the home of Donnetta (Sand) Hoffman on Friday. All but six of 22 classmates were present. At the banquet, the class members were joined by Jack and Ann Bruha, parents of the late Brian Bruha, who passed tragically just days before graduation 20 years ago. "It was wonderful seeing everyone again as we laughed and reminisced about high school days and got caught up on what we are doing presently," Hoffman said.

Lisa (Vossler) Veprovsky assembled a memory book for each class member; a copy of the book was also given to the alumni association.

On Saturday morning, some of the class members and other DHS alumni got together to golf at the Friend Country Club. They were served lunch by class of 1988 member John Weber’s parents, Bob and Judy, at their home in Friend. (The photos below are courtesy of Times readers and contributors.)

Class of 1988 Family Picnic. Front row: Karen (Krivohlavek) Wiles, Jenny Weber, Bob Kovar, Jason June (holding Brian Bruha’s memorial plaque), Lisa (Vossler) Veprovsky, Michelle (Bors) Hatfield, Donnetta (Sand) Hoffman, Rhonda (Slama) Zoubek, Patty (Logan) Prisbe, LeAnna (Vyhnalek) Hessheimer. Back Row: Brad Andelt, Tim Axline, Dan Rezabek, Greg Kotas.

The Class of 1988 Members & Former High School Teachers. Back Row: Doug Frahm, former principal and teacher Terry Gautreaux, Greg Kotas, Brad Andelt, Karen (Krivohlavek) Wiles. Middle Row: LeAnna (Vyhnalek) Hessheimer, Donnetta (Sand) Hoffman, Bob Kovar, Patty (Logan) Prisbe, Jenny Weber, Michelle (Bors) Hatfield. Sitting, Front Row: former teachers Lois Williams and Larry Gish. Not Pictured: former teacher Jan Stehlik.

Alumni Golf at Friend Country Club. Bob Kovar ('88), Lenny Gish ('89), Angie Andelt Conner ('95), Steve Conner ('87), Greg Kotas ('88), Doug Frahm ('88), Pat Vyhnalek ('89), Brad Andelt ('88), Kelly Vyhnalek ('89), Jenny Weber ('88) and Tim Axline ('88).

5 comments:

AnonymousMay 27, 2008 at 5:08 PM
Steve Conner is sporting a sweet shirt. It should be mandatory attire if you live in D-Ville!!!!!
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AnonymousMay 27, 2008 at 10:45 PM
This is more of a news tip, and I did not know where to send it, but since many from Dorchester are of Czech descent, I thought you could start a news item!

Czech President, Vaclav Klaus, is willing to debate Al Gore about the tyranny of global warming. Makes me proud to be of Czech ancestry!

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/208338,czech-president-klaus-ready-to-debate-gore-on-climate-change.html

JR Wolfe
York, Nebraska
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Replies
AnonymousMay 28, 2008 at 5:58 AM
Thanks for that tip. Al, make me proud that my Mother is Czech and that my paternal great-great-great-grandfather was a Tennessean who fought for the North and then went home to the South. (And lived!)

Míru (Peace)

I miss Václav Havel.
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Replies
AnonymousMay 28, 2008 at 8:58 AM
Class of 88 was a tight knit bunch .... it's good to see them together again. Thx for posting the pics.
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AnonymousMay 17, 2013 at 12:13 PM
Was in Dorchester and the High School is nothing like it was when i went its amazing the changes.. Kathleen Parks
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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."