Dorchester Times: NEWS ROUND-UP: Generous Donations To DHS Alumni Association

Thursday, June 3, 2021

NEWS ROUND-UP: Generous Donations To DHS Alumni Association

Donations Sent to DHS Alumni Association: The Times has learned that several Dorchester High School alumni have made generous donations to support the DHS Alumni Association and/or the DHS Alumni Scholarship Fund. Among those donating are the following Longhorns: Bernard Belka (Class of '41), Ray Krivohlavek ('41), Bob Kasl ('47), Lester Bruns ('48), Dr. David West ('53), Gerald Boden ('55), Marcia Boden ('56), Maxine Kubert Filipi ('56), Emmy Nejdl Boden ('61), Esther Korinek Johnson ('61), Rich Rardin ('70), Brent Stehlik ('74), Chris Pribyl Haake ('79), Mark and Judy Bors ('80 and '81), Neileen Filipi Nelson ('81), Bonnie Stehlik Wagner ('81), Charity Bolton Ebert ('82), and Sheldon Bruha ('86).

Sidewalk Scuttlebutt: According to an email sent to the Times, Dorchester village leaders are studying a plan that could require all town residents to install (and pay for) sidewalks on their property. The well-placed source tells the Times that a Lincoln-based consultant is recommending the action. Now we cannot confirm the accuracy of the report, but considering our source, we presume it has some merit. If true, the Times -- and most of our readers -- would wholeheartedly object to such a plan. We can list 100 actions that take priority over new sidewalks in Dorchester -- from construction of new housing, clean-up of existing homes, paving/repaving of streets, and renovation of Main Street. If village leaders want a place for people to walk, why not collaborate with the school on a track for students and the general public? (If you'd like to learn more about the sidewalk discussion, the next village board meeting is Monday, June 7, at 7 p.m. at the Dorchester Community Building. To present to the board, you must notify village hall at least 24 hours in advance, according to village board information.)

Kohout Organ Is Now Housed in Saline Co. Museum: A unique relic of music history has found its way to the Saline County Historical Society. Relatives of Adolph and longtime Dorchester School teacher Doris Kohout recently donated the Kohouts' pump organ to the Saline County Museum. The organ can be viewed in the museum's main building on Sundays, 2-5 p.m. Admission is free, although donations are accepted.

Dorchester Feedyard Spotlighted in Story on Beef Supply Bottleneck: Dorchester's Weber Feedyard is profiled in a story by KETV (Omaha's Channel 7) regarding the shortage of beef supplies, which was exacerbated by the cyberattack on JBS, the top beef producer in the U.S. "There are plenty of finished cattle, plenty of cattle supply to feed this demand that we've grown. The problem is getting them harvested," Weber said.

1 comment:

AnonymousJune 3, 2021 at 8:13 PM
WOuld you guys please write something about how to get rid of Ben Sasse? He's not a neo-con, he's just a plain con job!
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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."