Dorchester Times: Looking Back: Dorchester's Christmas Activities In 1946

Saturday, December 5, 2015

Looking Back: Dorchester's Christmas Activities In 1946

There's nothing to do in a small town during the holidays.

That's a common complaint we hear nowadays, especially among younger people.
But you never heard that complaint from your parents or grandparents or great-grandparents, did you?

There's a reason for that: Our relatives of two or three generations ago took matters into their own hands and made sure there was something to do in their community, especially around the holidays.

The Dorchester Times staff examined Christmastime issues of The Dorchester Star newspaper from the post-WWII era of 1946. (Note: The accompanying photo is of a 1946 Saturday Evening Post cover by Nebraska artist John Falter of his hometown of Falls City.)

Here are some of the activities on the Dorchester calendar the week before Christmas:

Dorchester Activities Club: The Dorchester Activities Club met once a month. In December 1946, 68 residents attended the meeting to share a turkey dinner prepared by "the ladies" and then to hear from a guest speaker lecture about the future of "atomic energy."

American Legion: On Dec. 15, 1946, the Dorchester American Legion held a trap shoot for the public at the J. Owen Potter farm. Pheasants were at "such a high premium" that year that it was decided shooting at clay pigeons made more sense than a hunt. On Dec. 19, the Legion and Auxiliary held a Christmas covered dish supper for the community.

Dorchester Quilting Club: The Quilting Club enjoyed a Christmas party at the home of Mrs. Lillie Arnold.

Friendly Nabor Club: The 20 members of the Friendly Nabor Project Club met at the home of Mrs. Sabina Potter on Dec. 11 for lunch and had a exchange of homemade gifts. They announced the January meeting would be hosted by Mrs. Hans Weber and Mrs. Jay Younkin.

Triple A Club: Mrs. John Freeouf was hostess of the Triple A Club. It was reported that "Miss Myrtle Briker was high at bridge."

Dorchester Bridge Club: The Bridge Club met Dec. 17, 1946, at the home of C.C. Whitcomb.

Dorchester School: Dorchester's 5th and 6th graders decorated their classrooms for Christmas with posters of Christmas scenes, as well as poinsettias and candles and a Christmas tree. Jack Bruha brought a new 1947 calendar for his classroom. In high school, the DHS Pep Club girls decorated the hallways and student assembly, and "dressed a tree placed in the upper hall."

Dorchester Library: The Dorchester Public Library was open on Saturdays in December 1946 from 7-9 p.m. on Saturdays and from 2:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays.

Methodist Church The Dorchester Methodist Church's young people went caroling around town on Dec. 21, 1946. The "Junior Department" of the UMC Sunday School held a pageant "A Little Child" on Christmas Eve. The adult choir practiced on Dec. 19.

L.M. Club: The weekly L.M. Club (we don't know what L.M. stood for) met at the home of Mrs. William Sehnert, as "Madames" Earl Moser and Henry Andelt received traveling prizes.

Women's Club: The Dorchester Women's Club held their weekly meeting on the afternoon of Dec. 18 at the Community Hall.

6 comments:

AnonymousDecember 22, 2014 at 3:41 PM
Back in the "40s" they had what I believe was called "The Elevator Feed" at Christmas. It was held in the Community building which was much different back then. What I remember most were the glazed donuts. Believe they also had hot dogs, apples, sacks of peanuts. We looked forward to this treat back in those days. We didn't have any money so this was very special.
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AnonymousDecember 5, 2015 at 6:37 PM
I would like to point out that in 1946, most family incomes came from Dad working or farming. Not that being a housewife was easy, but time was much more manageable. Most of the clubs and social events were run by women who made the time from their household chores to do these things. Today, because of the economy which often takes two incomes, there is no spare time. It is also why so many volunteer organizations are falling by the wayside.

I would also argue that with a diversified agriculture economy of those days, it was much easier to come up with the commodities for these events. A dozen families donating a goose or turkey and you could have a feed. The others donated other food items grown on their farm or back yard and their labor and you had an event.

Look in the papers of old for the social events going on from the 1920's on. Card parties, tea parties, coffee parties were weekly events. Even if someone had the time to put on an event like that, most people are now at work.

You are comparing apples and oranges. The old times were much better in some ways. But there was also not such an emphasis on material goods either. Now folks need two new cars and a new home or they are not happy............................just food for thought.
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AnonymousDecember 6, 2015 at 9:58 AM
Actually, studies show that Americans have never had more leisure time than they do now.
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AnonymousDecember 6, 2015 at 11:43 AM
Parents back then didn't spend hundreds of hours running their kids all over creation to soccer practice, dance lessons, martial arts classes, ball practices of every kind, you name it. Today's kids rule the family.
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Alisa BoothOctober 29, 2024 at 2:13 PM
From my Great Grandmother Sabina Potter’s Diary, 1946:
Dec. 10
Our quilting club had a Xmas party at Mrs Arnold’s. I went with Mrs. Mariska.
We were all there, 12 of us. Mrs. Chapman stayed with Mrs Leone Schnerts daughter who was ill until 4 o’clock. We played bingo and had a lot of prizes. We exchanged gifts and I got a nice set of dish pads. We all took a covered dish. I took a pineapple and carrot salad, and we had fruit salad, sandwiches, pickles, potato salad, mince and apple pie, baked beans, and coffee. Mrs. Arnold gave us each a satsuma from Alabama (I think), they are much sweeter and larger than what we have here. Mrs. Chapman brought us home and… we all laughed a good deal.
Dec. 1
I got the house cleaned up and had our project club party here today. We had a one o'clock luncheon. Each one bro't something. Grace and Ada Bowman served, cafeteria style. Laura and I were hostess. We had card tables. The luncheon was very good. In the afternoon we played games and had a gift exchange. About 16 adults and 4 children were here. We had a nice time.

(note: “Laura” was probably my great-grandmother, Laura Woehrle)
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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."