Dorchester Times: Pleasant Hill's Bob Mariska Passes At 99

Monday, November 26, 2018

Pleasant Hill's Bob Mariska Passes At 99

Robert L. Mariska, (99 years old), of Crete, passed away on Nov. 20. He was born on June 24, 1919 to William and Millie Mariska.

Bob proudly served in the army for 4.5 years during World War II as a staff sergeant. He was a member of the American Legion for over 75 years and Tabor Lodge 74, ZCBJ. He lived in Pleasant Hill for 91 years.

Bob married Leonore Fritz on May 24, 1942 and they were blessed with three sons: Neil, Brian and Jack.

Bob was the second-generation owner and operator of one of Pleasant Hill's most significant businesses. He ran the garage started by his father, Bill Mariska, in 1923. It stood just south of the old schoolhouse facing Franklin street. The Mariska garage sold used cars, were the first to sell tractor tires in the area, and had working gas pumps from 1923 to 1976. The shop also sold radios, refrigerators and some of the first gas powered mowers starting in 1950.

Bob in 2008 said the Mariska garage had the largest stock of Case parts for a hundred miles. Customers from Grand Island and Kearney were frequent, and one flew in to Pleasant Hill by landing his small plane in a field not far from the garage.

See our 2008 story for more on Bob.

Preceded in death by his parents, wife, and sons. Robert will be missed by daughters-in-law: Sharon Mariska of Lincoln and Shirley Mariska of Crete, grandsons: Chad Mariska (Amy) of Oklahoma and Darrin Mariska (Shauna) of Colorado, granddaughters: Denee Wehrs (Brian) of Lincoln and Tara Zuspan (Ryan) of Lincoln; as well as cousins and great-grandchildren.

Bob's funeral service was held at Kuncl Funeral Home on Saturday, November 24.

In lieu of flowers, please consider memorials to the Legion Post 264 in Dorchester. Please visit www.kunclfh.com to leave your condolences.

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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."