Dorchester Times: News Briefs: Alumni Banquet This Saturday

Thursday, May 22, 2008

News Briefs: Alumni Banquet This Saturday

DHS Alumni Banquet At Tabor This Saturday: This year's Dorchester High School Alumni Banquet will be held at Tabor Hall this Saturday at 6 p.m. Tabor Hall will open at 4 p.m. for early conversation. The new venue is due to the ongoing school renovation and expansion project. Members of the 20-year class -- the class of 1988 -- sent recently invitations to DHS alumni. If you did not receive an invitation or wish to make a late reservation, alumni are encouraged to call Lois Eret at (402) 946-3981. Other questions should be directed to Donnetta (Sand) Hoffman at (402) 946-2551.

Deadline For Garage Sale Listings Is May 28: As reported previously in the Times, Dorchester and Friend are teaming up to co-host a community garage sale day on Saturday, June 14. Event organizers remind us that the Friend Sentinel is running an advertising special -- and the Sentinel's advertising deadline is May 28. For $12, those holding garage sale hosts can get a classified ad of 20 words or less and your address posted on a map that will run in the Sentinel's June 11 issue. Readers may call Carol Olson at Colson@farmersco-operative.com or 946-3531, or Vicky Parks at 946-4691 with questions. Forms are available at the village office -- or can be faxed or e-mailed by Olson. Classes and organizations are also encouraged to host garage or sidewalk sales to raise money.

Dorchester Flag Retirement Will Be June 14: The Dorchester American Legion Post 264 will host a flag retirement ceremony on June 14. The Flag Day event will begin at 6 p.m. Guest speaker will be state Senator Russ Karpisek. All color guards, Auxilary units and Sons of the American Legion members are encouraged to attend. Those attending are urged to bring their unserviceable flags. For those who cannot attend, worn flags may be dropped off at the Farmers Co-op office in Dorchester. For questions or more information, call Larry Kaspar at (402) 946-6711 or Richard Kasl at (402) 946-7651.

Denker, Simmons Graduate From Doane College: Two Dorchester residents were among approximately 350 college graduates who were awarded undergraduate degrees last Sunday during Doane College’s annual commencement exercises. Katy Anne Simmons was awarded her bachelor of science, while Drew Denker received his bachelor of arts. Our hats off to both of our newest college graduates.

4 comments:

AnonymousMay 22, 2008 at 3:34 PM
Roseville, CA

Wow! That sign with the words "Tabor Hall" brings back lots of memories. It's been a long time since I've been to a polka dance. (Saline Center, Wilber Sokol Hall)

Děkuji (Thank you in Czech.)
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AnonymousMay 26, 2008 at 12:26 PM
Hi Village Dweller.....it's been awhile since I posted comments under my "id," which is 'den mother." I can't seems to accesss the correct password.....should I reset my google blogger identity?
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Village DwellerMay 26, 2008 at 2:32 PM
Anonymous (12:26 PM):

We recommend simply selecting "Name/URL" under the "Choose An Identity" menu.

Then type "Den Mother" -- or whatever tag you choose -- next to "Name." It's just that easy.

No registration is necessary.
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AnonymousMay 26, 2008 at 9:55 PM
Thanks, Village Dweller. Your coverage of the school and the building process is exceptional. Thanks so much for your service to Dorchester.
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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."