Dorchester Times: HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY! Dorchester's July 4 Schedule

Saturday, July 4, 2015

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY! Dorchester's July 4 Schedule

Today, our country celebrates another anniversary of its break from the British Empire and the oppressive rule of King George III.

Lucky for us that Dorchester has one of the very best July 4th celebrations in southeast Nebraska.

It's an annual tradition that draws in folks from near and far, including friends and family and DHS alumni from across the country.

Below is the schedule of Dorchester's 2015 Independence Day celebration.

Residents and out-of-town visitors will find plenty of things to do in Dorchester, without the hurried crowds of Seward or Lincoln.

Of course, the highlight of the day comes after dark with the famous fireworks show, which has been pleasing crowds for more than two decades.

Dorchester's 4th of July Celebration

2015 Schedule of Events

All Day .................. Food and drinks at City Slickers. Desserts and fun foods at the Dorchester Bakery.

All Day .................. Co-ed Softball Tourney (Nerud Field. Call Jared Jensen at 402.641.1154)

11 a.m.- 7 p.m. ....... Sons of American Legion BBQ (Legion Building)

11 a.m. ................... Auxiliary/Jr. Auxiliary Pie and Ice Cream Social/Raffle (Legion)

1-5 p.m. ................. Visit the Saline County Museum (Open to public. At 2 p.m., there will be a special "Czech Program" by Sue Placek.)

1 p.m. .................... "Show and Shine" on Main Street. (Autos, motorcycles, tractors of any year. Line up south of Tyser's Repair. T-shirts for participants. Call Matt Smith at 402.826.9303 for more information.)

2 p.m. ..................... Bingo (Community Building)

3 p.m. ..................... American Legion Gun/Outdoors Gear Auction (Fire Hall. A preview of the auction items will begin at 2 p.m. Call Darryl Novak for more information or to list consignment items. Click here for sale bill.)

4 p.m. ..................... Kiddy Tractor Pull. South of City Slickers. (Sponsored by Farmers Co-Op. Registration begins at 3:30 p.m. Participants must register.)

7 p.m. ..................... Parade (Line-up begins at 6:30 at Co-Op parking lot near elevator. Bring a description of your entry. For more, e-mail pegbergmeyer@yahoo.com)

10 p.m. ................... Fireworks at Nerud Field. (Alternate date is July 5 in case of inclement weather.)

Firework sales are taking place south of the Dorchester Fire Hall, 5 p.m. until 10 p.m. All proceeds go to support the Dorchester fireworks show on July 4.

Also, $1 Husker football raffle tickets are being sold at the fireworks stand south of the fire hall, as well as the Legion Hall. The tickets were donated by First State Bank - Dorchester Branch. Winner will be announced July 4 at 10 p.m. at Nerud Field. Need not be present to win.

Dorchester's 4th of July celebration depends on private support. Dorchester area residents and friends of Dorchester are encouraged to send their donations to:

First State Bank
4th of July Celebration
P.O. Box 264
Dorchester, NE 68343

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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."