Dorchester Times: The Truth: Loss Of DHS Football Has Hurt Our Town In Many Ways

Sunday, September 27, 2015

The Truth: Loss Of DHS Football Has Hurt Our Town In Many Ways

Earlier this weekend, we posted the following commentary on our Facebook page:

"For 64 years -- for adults and students -- it was tradition to meet up at Joe's Place to socialize and grab a bite to eat. The loss of DHS football in Dorchester has hurt our community in the areas of economics and camaraderie."

We received a rather direct e-mail in response telling us that the Times should be more supportive of the Dorchester students who are playing this season for the Milford-Dorchester cooperative team.

The truth is, we couldn't be more supportive of our current DHS kids, or more proud. And we are grateful the Milford community and MHS administration have welcomed Dorchester student athletes with open arms.

But the truth still stands: Dorchester has been hurt in multiple ways by the loss of its Friday night lights at Nerud Field.

Think of Dorchester's main street and how it should be lined with cars following a home game -- and how much money that used to bring to town. Moreover, think of the friendships -- among fellow parents and school staff and even visitors -- that were created and strengthened by football Fridays hosted by our village.

Most importantly, think of the special bond between the students who wore the school colors and played hard for a common cause.

That's what we support. And it's what we miss.

4 comments:

AnonymousSeptember 27, 2015 at 9:12 AM
Should the Dorchester Schools consider reinstating an organized Jr. High Flag Football program? Many of the fundamentals and schemes of the game may be taught without full contact. Would a once lost program stimulate future interest/participation in High School? Just thinkin.........
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AnonymousSeptember 27, 2015 at 10:20 AM
I live in Dorch and didn't realize the school had done away with flag football for jr. high kids. In this day and age when some parents and some media types bash football for being too violent (this from the same people who will let kids play video games and watch "R" rated movies), my vote would be to bring back flag football and teach the fundamentals for grades 7-8.
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AnonymousSeptember 27, 2015 at 10:29 AM
I live in Payson,Arizona and our football team are also Longhorns.I make yearly trips to Dorchester for family reunions.I wish the town had a team,but this year did support the Volleyball team and did go to a pancake fundraiser.
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AnonymousSeptember 28, 2015 at 12:56 AM
C'mon dorchester school board and administration. Why not make flag football part of the 7th and 8th grade required PE class as it used to be?
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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."