Dorchester Times: NEWS ROUND-UP: Zahourek Siblings Are State-Bound

Friday, May 11, 2018

NEWS ROUND-UP: Zahourek Siblings Are State-Bound

Here's what's new in our area:

DHS' Zahoureks Headed To State For Track: Congrats are in order to both Lena Zahourek and Carson Zahourek. The Dorchester Longhorn brother-sister duo qualified this week for Nebraska's State Track Meet at Burke Stadium in Omaha. Lena qualified in the 100 meter hurdles, while Carson ruled the triple jump event. You'll represent the Orange and Black well at State, Zahoureks.

Last Day Of School Is Friday: The last day of school at Dorchester is Friday, May 18. School will end at 11:30 a.m. that day and buses will run accordingly. For those parents who are already counting down the days until the 2018-19 school year starts, classes resume Aug. 15. In the meantime, should your child need transportation next school year, call 402.946.2781 or e-mail dschrunk@dorchesterschool.org and get on the list.

Dorchester Fun Run And Walk Will Be July 4: Come out to Dorchester for a relaxing and fun 1 mile or 5K run the morning of July 4 at 8 a.m. Proceeds go toward the Splash Pad and the 4th of July Celebration in Dorchester. T-shirts for all runners/walkers, along with prizes for age divisions. Timing will be provided by Black Squirrel timing. For those 21 and over, cool down with $1 Busch Light beers and $10 Busch Light towers at City Slickers Bar & Grill for all runners and walkers. Bring your friends. See more information at https://www.facebook.com/events/266863057187062/

Got a Property for Rent In Dorchester? Tell Us About It: Recently, the Times received and e-mail of a former Dorchester resident looking to move back. She asked us if our staff knew of any rental homes available in Dorchester. If you have a home in or near Dorchester for rent, tell us about it. (Send an e-mail to dorchester.times@gmail.com.) We will publish it on this blog so others are aware. Be sure to send us contact information, the location of the property, and a picture, if possible.

1 comment:

AnonymousMay 13, 2018 at 11:17 PM
When is the last time two siblings from DHS have made it to state track the same season if ever?
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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."