UNL Journalists Post More Dorchester Observations

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln journalists who are spending time in Dorchester continue to document how Nebraskans are being affected by the economic downturn.

The photojournalists have published two new posts on their blog. One of the posts features an interview with Dorchester Grocery owner John Bruha.

UNL journalist Patrick Breen writes, "One of the things that small communities do well is support each other. Or at least that is what we were finding in other towns. The only difference here in Dorchester was that there was a Wal-Mart nearby in Crete."

Breen's blog post continued: "(Bruha) said people would drive the extra time and use about $5 in gas, which might make-up the difference in their bill. He is right. Wal-Mart brings down small businesses like his. He said that times are tough, but he hopes it gets better."

UNL journalist Kyle Bruggeman noted that his crew enjoyed their time at Joe's Place.

He wrote: "Small town bars have a much different attitude than those of larger cities. In Lincoln, for example, one must usually wait in a line just to get in. Once you've finally made it to the bar your battling another line of people to get a drink. 

"Joe's Place is not anything like the situation described above. Here you can get in easily and the bartender asks you if you need anything before you get to the counter. It's a friendly place where the entire family is welcome and price of a cold beer on tap is only a dollar. A great price during these economic times. The lyrics to the old television show Cheers describes it best: where everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came."

To see the UNL photojournalists' new reports on Dorchester, click here and here.