Dorchester Times: RANDOM THOUGHTS: Dorchester's Post Office, Football Future, And Medical Pot

Thursday, June 25, 2015

RANDOM THOUGHTS: Dorchester's Post Office, Football Future, And Medical Pot

Dorchester's Post Office: For those who haven't noticed, Dorchester's Post Office Building looks more attractive than it has in a long time, perhaps since the building was erected in the 1960s. We salute those responsible, including Dorchester's new postmaster. This is a model hometown of pride and for how buildings along main street should be maintained.

Dorchester's Football Future: Ever since Dorchester High School lost it's own football team following the 2012 season, we've heard many around town and the countryside say they hope Longhorn football returns to Nerud Field in the near future. The only way that can happen is to introduce more young boys to the game. Once again, the coaches at DHS are offering young players in the Dorchester area a chance to improve their gridiron game. On July 6 and 7, DHS football coaches Ryan Voelker and Brent Zoubek will hold the Dorchester Area Youth Football Camp for boys who are entering grades 5 through 8. We have no idea why parents wouldn't encourage their boys to be part of this camp and allow their boys -- who won't be little kids forever -- the chance to make up their own minds about playing a game that teaches lifelong lessons. For more information, or to register, contact Brent Zoubek at (402) 418-1019.

Medical Pot is a Bust: This week it was reported that a comprehensive review of 28 extensive studies -- with around 2,500 patients -- showed there is little justifiable use, ever, for medical marijuana. These clinical trials tested medical pot for 10 conditions and, according to the LA Times, those trials uncovered that there is "very little reliable evidence to support the drug’s use." The review was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Given these studies, where are the comments from Nebraska lawmakers -- who were on the verge of approving medical pot for use in Nebraska until a last minute pullout by the bill's sponsor, Senator Tommy Garrett? Many of the elected politicians we now have in office (along with some religious figures, corporate executives and other opinion leaders) are followers of the mainstream news media and Hollywood. They are all riding a wave of political correctness sweeping the western world, powered by feel-good emotions, a void of fact, and spiraling standards of conduct. They'd be wise to realize that the pendulum always swings back towards the truth and well-worn traditions proved right by generations who've come before.

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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."