Dorchester Times: Jerry Schlamann Passes At 75

Sunday, August 16, 2020

Jerry Schlamann Passes At 75

Longtime Dorchester resident Jerry Frederick Schlamann passed away at his home surrounded by family on August 9, 2020.

He was born to Raymond H. Schlamann and Anna M. (Witte) Schlamann on March 16, 1945 in Carleton, Neb. He was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran faith at Grace Lutheran Church in Hebron. He attended school in Hebron, where he graduated in 1964. He married Nancy L. Mundt on October 14, 1967 at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Crete, and to this union four children were born. He was a member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church for almost 53 years.

Jerry and Nancy called Dorchester home for almost 47 years, then they decided to move to Warrensburg, Missouri in 2018, and then to Leeton, Missouri a year later. Jerry was a hard worker and supported his family no matter what it took. He had many jobs including a semi-truck driver, a security guard, and for 38 years he worked at Nestle Purina making pet food. He retired from Nestle in 2010, and thoroughly enjoyed his retirement. He volunteered at the Crete FoodNet on the weekends and was a driver and did odd jobs for them for 9 years.

Jerry and Nancy did a lot of traveling during his retirement, and not only did they travel to see family, but they also got to see parts of the country that they had never been to before. Jerry loved to travel, work outdoors, do handyman projects, work on vehicles, and spend time with his grandchildren. He also loved to tell stories to his children and grandchildren, even sometimes to complete strangers. Jerry was a quiet man, but could be stern when he needed to be. He led a servant life and was always trying to help others.

He was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers (Robert and Arnold), daughter-in-law Beth (Donner) Schlamann, and son-in-law Bradley Slick. He is survived by his wife Nancy (Leeton, MO), son Rev. Mark (Tanya) Schlamann (Tooele, UT), daughter Elizabeth Schlamann (Wayne, NE), daughter Rebecca Slick (Creston, IA), and daughter Jennifer (Joseph) Peek (Chilhowee, MO), grandchildren Mikayla (Daniel) Wilson (Lincoln, NE), David Weigle (Seward, NE), Della (Evan) Griggs (Odessa, MO), Hannah Peek (Independence, MO), Alexandra and Mason Slick (Creston, IA), great grandchildren: Reign Wilson (Lincoln, NE), and Kimber and Levi Griggs (Odessa, MO). He is also survived by his sister Linda Hinderks (Lincoln, NE) and numerous nieces and nephews.

Services were held at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Crete on Friday, August 14 at 10:30 a.m. Interment was be at Dorchester Cemetery following the funeral service. Leave condolences online here.

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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."