Dorchester Times: NEWS ROUNDUP: City Slickers Grill Expected To Be Serving Within Days

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

NEWS ROUNDUP: City Slickers Grill Expected To Be Serving Within Days

City Slickers' Grill Could Be Operational By Next Week: Several sources say that City Slickers' new grill and completely refurbished dinning quarters could be open by next week. Our scoop was confirmed when City Slickers' Facebook account announced that inspections will be Thursday, Friday and Monday. The grill has been closed since mid-November when a minor fire caused smoke damage and shut down the establishment for several weeks. Last week, City Slickers unveiled the outdoor portion of their renovation, revealing three new and attractive windows on the north section of the establishment. The new-and-improved City Slickers' features: a new kitchen; much larger dining area, with many tables separate from the bar area for a pleasant dining experience; deluxe salad bar; a pool area; and a dance floor with a band/DJ area. Many, many dollars have been poured into City Slickers for its new interior and structural reinforcements. Word is there may be a line to get into the place once the grill is fired up.

Farm Show At Saline Center Next Wednesday: The Southeast Nebraska Farm Show is coming to Saline Center Hall on Wednesday, Feb. 24, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The theme this year is “Showcasing Nebraska Agriculture” The event is sponsored by the Wilber-Clatonia FFA Alumni and admission is free of charge to all agricultural producers. A pork meal will be served from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and a silent auction will be held during the Farm Show to further support the Wilber-Clatonia FFA Chapter and to provide scholarships for FFA members. To get to Saline Center from Dorchester, go three miles west on Highway 33 to Highway 15, then nine miles south on Highway 15 (Highway 15 and County Road M).

Exeter Moves Ahead To Tear Down Historic Building On Main Street: Recently, the Exeter Village Board unanimously approved a motion to seek bids to tear down the old Tag factory. The two-story building is in disrepair and appears to be a safety concern. This is a reminder for Dorchester and every other community with neglected old buildings: once they are gone, they are gone forever. Even if something is rebuilt in the space left behind, it will likely be a tin building, with little character or eye appeal. When it comes to old buildings, you only get one shot to preserve the past.

Nebraska Robotics Expo Is Saturday: Are the kids looking for something to do this weekend? The Strategic Air and Space Museum near Ashland is hosting the 7th Annual Nebraska Robotics Expo on Saturday, Feb. 20. Nebraska students, team leaders and math and science teachers from the four corners of the state will gather for the event that features two big robotics competitions. The public is invited to attend and are encouraged to participate with many of the activities. The opening ceremonies start at 8:30 a.m.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Village Dweller checks all reader comments to determine if they are appropriate for print.

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."