Dorchester Times: NEWS ROUND-UP: Dorchester Legion Bar and Grill Gains Loyal Following

Sunday, February 27, 2022

NEWS ROUND-UP: Dorchester Legion Bar and Grill Gains Loyal Following

Six Apply for Village Maintenance Position: At least half a dozen individuals have applied for the Village of Dorchester's assistant utilities superintendent. The position was most previously held by Bret Cerny, who resigned last month for another career opportunity. Village board members are reviewing the candidates' credentials now and a new hire is expected to be made shortly. The village board will hold its next meeting March 7.

Dorchester Taking Census of School-Age Students: If you live in the Dorchester school district, and have children 21 or under, and those children don't attend Dorchester Public School, you are asked to fill out a one-page census form. See page two of this newsletter.

Dorchester Legion Bar and Grill Gains Loyal Following: Dorchester is already one of the top towns under 1,000 for food and drink, thanks to City Slickers and Eastside. But now the Dorchester Amercian Legion Bar and Grill, which fills a service gap on weekend mornings and Monday evenings, is gaining a strong following and lots of fans. On Monday, Feb. 28, the Legion will be hosting a Mardi Gras special for all area residents. It will include seafood boil and drink specials. Food starts at 6 p.m., while the bar opens at 5 p.m.

Dorchester Steak Feed is March 19: The Dorchester Community Foundation's Annual Steak and Hamburger Feed will be held Saturday evening, Saturday, March 19 from 5-9 p.m. at the Dorchester Legion and Community Hall. For those who don't want to dine in, to-go orders will be available by calling 402-641-1921 and 641-4075. Those who have been to this event in the past know it's some of the best beef available anywhere, and in a small-town, friendly environment. Funds raised will help support Nerud Field's new ball field bleachers and shade system.

DHS Alum Bernard Belka Passes at 97: Bernard “Bernie” Belka, 97, died Jan. 28, 2022. He was born Nov. 21, 1924 in Dorchester to Bert and Alice (Tenopir) Belka, and was the youngest of three children. After graduating from DHS, Bernie served in the Navy during World War II, then returned to Nebraska to farm, and learned the electrical trade from his brother-in-law. He met Louise Havranek in Crete, and they were married in 1948. Bernie worked at Goodyear in Lincoln for 30-plus years as an electrician, supervisor, then foreman. Bernie also had his own electrical business, “Bernie’s Electric.” A celebration of life will be Sat., March 5, at 2 p.m. at Lincoln Memorial Park.

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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."