Dorchester Times: Friend's Pour House Competing For National Grant To Complete Restoration

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Friend's Pour House Competing For National Grant To Complete Restoration

Almost two years ago, we ran a short story on the Pour House Tasting Room in Friend, one of of Saline County's most unique businesses.

Opened by Carey Potter, who has strong ties to Dorchester, the Pour House is under the historic Warren Opera House, which is currently being restored by the Friend Historical Society. Potter's family farm is near Dorchester.

The tasting room features wine from the Potter vineyard. "It just made sense to open a tasting room at the same time," Potter said in July 2010.

Now Potter is applying for a $250,000 grant from Chase Bank.

The Times has learned that last night, the Pour House qualified to become eligible for the grant, since it received more than 250 votes on the Chase small business website.

Eligible small business applicants will be judged by a panel of business experts.

The grant would help with restoration of the opera house, as well as allow more improvements to the Pour House, according to Potter.

Vote for the Pour House simply by clicking here, or visit the Chase small business grant website and the search for the Pour House by going to the bottom of the page and looking under Friend, Nebraska.

11 comments:

DC HuskerJuly 15, 2010 at 11:39 AM
This is a neat story. I can relate to it on many levels. My mother was born in Friend in 1938 and moved to Wilber at age 5 when her parents divorced. (My grandfather remained on his farm and is buried in Friend.) I wish Wilber could have saved its Opera House and preserved the interior of the old hardware store. I’m sure people in Washington would be surprised to learn that a lobbyist runs a wine tasting room in small town Nebraska. Not all of them work on K Street.
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Cynical RichardJuly 15, 2010 at 2:05 PM
I shoulda been a lobbyist ............................ i would have opened up a lollipop store on mainstreet ......... woulda called it Richard's Licks ...............
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AnonymousJuly 16, 2010 at 11:26 AM
Parties interested in helping continue work on the restoration of the Opera House/Warren Building are always welcome. Call Marla Weber or Carey Potter for work nights and needs. Everyone welcome!

Come make new friends and re-acquaint with old friends, there are a number of Dorchester links already working there!
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AnonymousJuly 17, 2010 at 12:20 PM
How about we call your new restaurant, richard, CRSS, Cynical Richard, S---- S---. Richard, you fill in the blanks richard, if you smart enough.
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AnonymousJune 12, 2012 at 9:40 AM
I hate CR. He's so negative.
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Carey PJune 13, 2012 at 5:43 PM
Thanks for following this effort! You should know the Dorchester Times has quite a following...heard from a few that our story was running. Yes, this is a great (long shot) opportunity, but funds would go a long way toward fire code issues, etc. Work days are set for Monday 10AM (may change to evening/cooler) No need to contact anyone, just come to the San Carlo, or check around back in the Courtyard. Any and all support is appreciated.
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AnonymousJune 15, 2012 at 10:13 AM
As I understand this, it would be a small business grant for the Pour House, not for the Opera House. While the Pour House could use it to make further improvements to their site, funds would not directly be available for the Opera House project, which is above the San Carlo room. They are two different entities.
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Bog MammaJune 16, 2012 at 12:15 PM
I am so...glad the Dorchester Times is back...
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carey PotterJune 20, 2012 at 7:15 PM
Annonymous is correct in that this is a small business grant which only a small business can apply for. Thus, Pour House did so, and we remain hopeful. Funds will benefit the Society as improvements are to the Society's building. As you apparently know, Pour House is only a tenant. The benefit would be for sprinkler system, which must be in place before the Opera House can be utilized. Further, benefit to the Opera House could be the addition of an elevator in the Pour House side which would allow people to access the 3rd floor without ascending the exterior steps. So, yes, you are correct, but please let's look at the full picture of who truly benefits. Finally, if Pour House is approved, it will be me that is paying the taxes on that income. Thanks for reading this blog. Isn't it great?!
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JKJune 20, 2012 at 8:18 PM
Is there actually a controversy here? Really?!

You've got a small business owner who is paying taxes, risking capital, making improvements in what would otherwise be a vacant store.

Moreover, you have a store owner and community volunteer who has taken the initiative to apply for a private grant provided by a credit card company.

And she's catch flak from some small-minded, envious twit who probably admires the Occupiers of Wall Street? What a doof!

Hats off to this -- and all -- small business owners who make our communities tick all across America!
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wildflowerJune 21, 2012 at 10:10 AM
As a sm Business owner myself , the business generated by the PH , San Carlo ,Mary Mary and soon opera house helps everyone .The traffic (people ) from other communities & states visiting & spending their dollars is a huge plus . So Really the sm business grant if awarded helps us all! As small communities in this area , we have so much to offer if we can be positive , think outside the box and look at the possibilities . Thx Ms Potter for all you do !
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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."