Dorchester Times: Dorchester Resident Shares State Fair Memories

Monday, August 31, 2009

Dorchester Resident Shares State Fair Memories

More than a century of tradition will soon end as Lincoln hosts its final Nebraska State Fair. In the Aug. 30 edition of the Lincoln Journal Star, area readers shared their memories of state fairs past -- including Dorchester's Rev. Roger Wolfe. In the article, Rev. Wolfe recalls when he won first place in the Nebraska State Fair's 1937 baby contest, as well as his recollections of the horse exhibits and the trips via his grandpa's Whippet automobile. Wolfe writes:

"I can remember even though I was only a little over two, I was given 1st Place in the Baby Contest as The Grand Champion Rural Child in 1937. (Still have the cup, ribbons, article from the Lincoln paper.) Horses being a big part of farming back then, I remember seeing the many horses in the horse exhibits. I rode to the State Fair in my Grandpa Pavlish's 1929 Whippet automobile. I showed animals there from 4-H as a teen. Have been in many parades with the American Legion."

To see the article and the Rev. Wolfe's commentary, click here.

7 comments:

AnonymousSeptember 1, 2009 at 12:18 AM
That's my papa! I never quite messured up to Grand Champion Status :-)

JR Wolfe

PS Now you know what JR stands for!!
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Vested CzechSeptember 1, 2009 at 11:30 AM
And I thought Roger was born with whiskers!
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AnonymousSeptember 1, 2009 at 3:23 PM
Those whiskers are his impersonation of US Grant.

His great grandpa William H. Burgess had a nice set of whiskers at one point too!

Na Shledanou

JR
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Vested CzechSeptember 1, 2009 at 5:11 PM
Wait...let me get this straight. Roger is not 100% Czech?
What is the history of William H. Burgess?

By the way, have you read Grant's memoirs? They have been praised by everyone from Mark Twain to Gertrude Stein. (Quite a pair!)
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AnonymousSeptember 2, 2009 at 1:00 AM
Dear Vested Czech,

Dad's paternal side is 100% Czech. On the maternal side, Great grandpa Pavlish married Rosalie Burgess the daughter of William Burgess. So dad is 3/4 Czech! English gentleman farmer William and Annie Burgess came to Saline County in 1872 (From Britan) and Rosalie was born here the same year.

Now I am 7/8 Czech. Of my great grandparents 7 are Czech.

As for US Grant, dad represents the Union side of the family, I on the other hand.......that is another story! :-)Grant is definately one of my dad's heros. I have a copy of Grant's Memoirs.

As a student of the WBTS, I have read so much about most of the leadership of both sides, that my brain is overloaded with what many would call useless information. My library rivals most town libraries. I also was a reenactor for over a decade. I count generals Thomas Jackson, and RE Lee as the greatest generals, this side of Jan Zizka! Well, you can throw in George Washington as well!

Na Shledanou

JR

PS Someday you need to tell me who you are! My apologies to the Times staff for making this my own blog! ;-)
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Vested CzechSeptember 3, 2009 at 1:08 PM
Now I know the true story behind the whiskers!

JR, your lineage is very similar to mine.

One day the vest that shields my identity will be removed.
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AnonymousSeptember 3, 2009 at 4:13 PM
Roger, you and I were in the same grade at Dorchester High, and I had no idea that you were the Grand Champion! I doubt the rest of the class knew either. Please accept my sincere, although rather late, congratulations!! Reading about one of my DHS classmates brings back many memories of the "Good Old Days".
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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."