NEWS ROUND-UP: DVFD Brisket Meal Is This Saturday

Brisket Meals to Go This Saturday: Get ready for a real treat this Saturday, April 1, when the men and women of the Dorchester Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department offer brisket meals to go from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the fire hall. This fundraiser event is a free-will offering. You can simply drive through or pre-order by calling 402-946-4641. You can also text 402-826-7346. All proceeds go to support DVFD equipment and expenses. Let's get a big turn-out for this one.

Dorchester UMC Fundraiser, April 23: Another very worthwhile fundraiser will occur in Dorchester on Sunday, April 23, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. That's when the Dorchester United Methodist Church will host a taco lunch to raise dollars for its after-school program. More details here.

Dorchester Journalism Students Shine at State Contest: The strong tradition of Dorchester journalism continues as several DHS students recently competed in the Nebraska Journalism Education Association Winter High School Journalism Competition. Nearly 750 entries were received from 29 schools across the state, with many Class A schools competing. Andrea Pavlish, Hailey Schweitzer, Mackenzie Luzum, Gabby Theis, Elsy Loarca, and Jacob Cerny all took home honors from the competition. The students are advised by Mrs. Sandy Severance. 

A Tribute to Pleasant Hill Polka: To pay tribute to Pleasant Hill polka memories, the Saline County Historical Museum in Dorchester has a new display in its Memorial Building. Titled "30 Years in the Music Business - Pleasant Hill Store July, 1993," the display can be seen during the museum's regular hours, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

First State Bank Offers Tips to Prevent Cyber Attacks: First State Bank has published five tips to help protect small businesses and individuals protect themselves for hackers and cyber attacks. Read the bank's article.

Reduced Price On Refurbished Home: 513 Fulton Ave.

Dorchester's real estate market has cooled off but remains relatively strong. This as the days of easy, cheap money -- following nearly three years of money printing and massive government spending -- are coming to a close due to needed Federal Reserve rate hikes to tamp down inflation and save the currency. 

This makes many homes in large cities, as well as most acreages, unaffordable for the average buyer. Dorchester looks even more appealing now to most folks in the market to buy a home.

Consider what Dorchester has to offer:

• TOP-NOTCH SCHOOL: A newer K-12 school with smaller class sizes and some of the state's best educators. This means individualized attention for your child.

• A SAFE AND FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE COMMUNITY: With an upgraded water and sewer system, and a surplus of funding at Village Hall.

• LOWER COSTS: Affordable living costs with lower property taxes compared to surrounding school districts.

• KEY BUSINESSES AND PRIME LOCATION: Headquarters for one of the nation's largest agri-businesses (Farmers Cooperative) and situated on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail line and along two major highways.

• GEOGRAPHIC ADVANTAGE: A quick drive to employers in Crete, Milford, Friend, and Seward. Just 30 minutes to Lincoln and 12 minutes to I-80. Yet all the advantages of a small, close-knit community.

Here's a great Dorchester home that just hit the market:

513 Fulton Ave.: Charming and completely remodeled 1 + 1 bedroom, 1 bath home in Dorchester! New windows, flooring, paint, carpet, and tile throughout. Kitchen has been completely redone with new counter tops, cabinets, backsplash, and updated appliances. New water pipes, water heater, and electrical outlets. Large laundry room with newer washer and dryer included. Large mud room with plenty of room for storage! House sits on a large corner lot with an over-sized two-stall detached garage with work bench. The exterior has been repainted and there is large storage shed in the backyard! You don't want to miss this one. See the full listing.

NEWS ROUND-UP: Steak Feed Attendance Up; DHS' Crow's Nest Coming Down

Huge Turnout for Dorchester Community Foundation Fund Feed: An estimated 425 individuals turned out Saturday night for the Dorchester Community Foundation Fund's annual steak and hamburger feed. The successful event moves the organization closer to raising the capital needed for the Nerud Field shaded bleachers that will make watching summertime baseball and softball more bearable.

DHS Crow's Nest to Be Torn Down: It appears some more changes are coming to Dorchester High School's football field at Nerud Field. At this month's DPS school board meeting, discussion was held about the Dorchester Volunteer Fire Department being utilized to burn the longtime crow's nest that has overlooked the gridiron for decades (despite a few changes in appearance). The Nebraska Department of Transportation has agreed to remove the concrete, according to the school board minutes. The Times has been told by inside sources that a new crow's nest could be erected by the start of the 2023 football season. Also planned is a fence on the south side of the field.

'Little Shop of Horrors' Coming to DHS Stage: The DHS music and drama departments are planning performances of the famous musical "Little Shop of Horrors" on Thursday, March 30 and Friday, 31. Both performances will begin at 7:30 p.m.

Wind Power Takes Some Blows: It seems Saline County residents aren't the only ones being driven crazy by the constant flashing red lights from hundreds of wind turbines on the horizon. In Kansas, state lawmakers are considering a bill that would require technology to dampen red lights atop those wind turbines starting later this year. Also, it looks like next-door Jefferson County may soon adopt tighter restrictions on commercial wind energy development after more than a year crafting regulations. We have said for years that for those who want renewable energy, solar makes more sense in more populated sections of the state -- and we were right.

Antiques Roadshow-Type Event Comes To Dorchester, April 30

Do you enjoy "Antiques Roadshow" -- the TV program on PBS?

Then you'll love the event planned for late April at the Saline County Historical Museum. And you'll be able to get your favorite antique's value appraised for free.

The Saline County Museum, located in south Dorchester just off Hwy. 33, will host its Antique Appraisal Fair on Sunday, April 30, from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. The appraisal fair will be conducted by Tom Bassett of Lincoln. 

This event will be like "Antiques Roadshow" in our own community, according to information the Times has received from readers. Attendees can bring up to three items to be appraised. There will be no charge for the event.  

April 30 will also be the annual museum open house. Admission to the Saline County Museum is always free; donations are accepted and help with repairs and new displays.

110 Years After His Death, Henry Burden Continues To Captivate

More than 110 years after his death, Henry Burden's legacy lives on in Saline County. Burden, after all, was the first African American to settle in our county, making his home in the Pleasant Hill area in 1868.

We last reported on the Burden family's impact in 2015, when students from Arlington (Neb.) High School spent hours at the Saline County Museum to research the Burdens' story.

At that time, the Arlington Citizen reported that AHS students explored the Burden house (now located on the museum grounds), which sheltered Henry Burden, his wife, Mary, and their seven children. The students even made their way up to the attic, which is where the Burden children slept. (Click here for an Omaha World-Herald story on the Arlington students' research efforts.)

Burden, a former slave, served in the Union Army during the Civil War after escaping from the South. He went to Wisconsin, enlisted in the 17th U.S. Colored Troop Regiment and served a year before being honorably discharged. He made his way to Lincoln and then to the Dorchester area.

The Arlington students hoped to prove that Burden was an escaped slave to be able to include his house and burial site in Pleasant Hill Cemetery on the National Park Service’s "Network to Freedom," a national registry for sites associated with the Underground Railroad. (The Times has been unable to confirm if the students were successful, although to our knowledge, the Burden home is not yet listed on the registry.)

According to the reports from 2015, Judy Rada, then-president of the museum board, said: “I think it’s fantastic that we have young people that are as interested and enthused as these kids are, and a teacher who is willing to go to these steps to keep the kids involved in history.” 

Rada helped the students photocopy document after document. Rada also told them different stories about Henry. He and his family were the only black family in the county, she said, but they were treated like any other family.  “The reason he was so well accepted,” Rada said, “was because he knew all of his neighbors were Czech. He learned to speak Czech.”

The Burden children attended school in Pleasant Hill. Documents the students found noted that the school was integrated in the late 1800s. Today, Rada said, not many people know the story about Henry Burden and his house. “Not as much as they used to,” she said. “We definitely point it out to anyone who comes. We make sure they see it and they are aware of the history that is involved with it.”

With documents in hand, the students followed Rada to the Burden House, which sits just to the west of the museum's main building, along with an old schoolhouse, log cabin and train depot. The group then met Larry Kaspar, the sexton of the Pleasant Hill Cemetery, where Henry Burden, his wife, and two sons are buried. 

Burden, who passed away in October 1913 at age 76, is buried on the south side of the Pleasant Hill cemetery, as a large ornate headstone designates his resting place. His funeral was attended by the entire Pleasant Hill community. 

A Step Back In Time: Dorchester Photos From 1900-1920

As this blog has done regularly over its nearly 16 years, today we're sharing images of Dorchester's early years. 

These photos of the community and surrounding countryside have been gathered by our six staff members.

With this collection, we're paying tribute to Dorchester's hard-working citizens of the early 1900s, who helped establish the foundation for our community. (By the way, thanks to all of you who continue to build and improve upon that foundation today.)

Some of the photographs were taken by Russell Freidell, Dorchester's famous photographer who excelled in early camera technology.

Enjoy! Click the photos for a closer view.

NEWS ROUND-UP: Longhorn Art At The State Capitol

DPS Students' Artwork at Capitol: The artwork of four Dorchester students, under the instruction of Mrs. Lutjemeyer, was showcased at the State Capitol this week in celebration of Nebraska Statehood Day. The DPS artists are Hailey Schweitzer, Baylor Behrens, Malikhi Gooding, and Daniel Garcia Bernabe, according to the school's social media.

Softball and Baseball Registration Still Open: For Dorchester area kids who want to play baseball or softball this summer, time is running short to sign up. Registration closes Monday, March 6 -- so be sure to get your forms turned in asap. Contact a committee member for a printed form or more information. For baseball, call Julie Behrens at 402-826-7260. For softball, call Chelsea Smith at 402-418-0424.

Steak and Hamburger Feed, March 18: The Dorchester Community Foundation Fund's Annual Steak and Hamburger Feed has been set for Saturday evening, March 18. It will be held in conjunction with the Dorchester High School Alumni Basketball Tourney. More information is available here.

Get Your DHS Track Apparel Now: Longhorn fans have until 11:59 p.m. Monday, March 6, to order DHS track and field apparel. Purchase a great t-shirt, jogging pants, sweatshirt or other wearables by visiting this site.

Dorchester Kindergarten Roundup Is April 4: Dorchester's kindergarten registration for next school year will be held April 4 from 5-7 p.m. Then the annual DPS Kindergarten Roundup will be April 6, starting at 12:20 p.m., giving the students a chance to meet one another. Call Mrs. Schindler for questions at 402-946-2781.

Don't Burn This Weekend: With low humidity levels, our area is in the high to very high category for fire danger through Monday. Fires will be harder to control due to high winds. The simple advice: Do not burn. Then get ready for a blast of arctic air that will endure through mid-March.

Thirty-Six Years Ago: Best DHS Basketball Team Ever

It's high school basketball tournament time. With no Dorchester teams in action, we're recounting the powerhouse days of Dorchester boys basketball.

Thirty-six years this month -- March 12, 1987 to be exact -- was the start of the Nebraska Boys High School State Basketball Tournament.  

To this day, many fans say the 1986-87 Longhorns should have been there; of those, many say DHS would have won the state title that season.

By a 5-1 vote, the Times' staff believes that 1986-87 DHS team is the best boys basketball team to play for Dorchester to date.

The Longhorns' starting lineup that season featured Bob Zoubek (Sr., 6'3), Steve Conner (Sr., 6'0), Cory Roth (So., 6'8), Matt Bolton (So., 6'5) and Doug Frahm (Jr., 6'3). Frahm was considered the Larry Bird of Dorchester basketball. Moreover, DHS had a deep bench with able players such as John Weber, Lenny Gish, Greg Kotas, and Ken Uher ready to step in as needed.  

Playing in Class C-2 under Coach Scott Pohl, the Longhorns were ranked near the top of the standings by both major newspapers -- from the pre-season to the sub-district finals.

DHS routinely crushed larger schools most of the season, beating teams like Friend (88-53), Henderson (65-51), Milford (62-45), Wilber-Clatonia (70-46), McCool (86-53), and Wymore (85-53).

The only team to trip up the Longhorns during the regular season was a mediocre Odell squad, which caught DHS on an off night and sent them packing early from the MUDECAS tournament in Beatrice. It was Dorchester's only loss of the regular season.

During the mid- to late-1980s, no team was a bigger foe of the Longhorns than Lincoln Christian. Known for their recruited talent -- and sometimes dirty play -- Christian was an emerging Class C power. In the '86-'87 season, DHS faced Christian twice, beating them 79-65 early in the season and then again in the first round of sub-districts.

Heading into the 1987 sub-districts, DHS was 17-1 and ranked No. 4 in the state, but Lincoln Christian was peaking. 

We recently found an article by The Lincoln Star's Ryly Jane Hambleton who covered the March 5, 1987 DHS-Christian sub-district contest. She wrote: "Doug Frahm got the green light and you could almost hear the tires squeal. The 6-foot-3 junior was perfect from the field and the free throw line in the second half as Dorchester rallied to earn a 68-61 victory over Lincoln Christian at Southeast Community College in Milford." 

The lead in that game changed hands eight times and the score was tied four times. A Lincoln Christian player fouled out with a minute left and the score 59-55, and then proceeded to get two technical fouls. (Another reason Lincoln Christian had a reputation in the 1980s.) Frahm made all four technical foul shots, sealing Christian's fate.

That big victory sent DHS to the district tourney, where the Longhorns would face a much weaker opponent in Nemaha Valley. Fans we spoke with for this story recalled looking ahead to the state tournament. Many knew that DHS would have a good chance of reaching the state championship once the boys dusted up Nemaha Valley.

But that's where the story ends. 

Nemaha Valley would use a half-court stall game -- now prohibited under the rules of the Nebraska School Activities Association -- to hold the Longhorns to just 41 points, roughly 25 points below DHS' season average. The upset shocked DHS fans and everyone else in Nebraska who followed Class C basketball.

The loss stung -- so much that the 1987 DHS yearbook doesn't even have a story recap of the season, just the season's scores, a few photos, and a quote from Coach Pohl.  

Some in the community blamed coaching, as is typical in high school sports. Others blamed DHS' younger players. But it was a learning moment, one that prepared those Longhorns for a much bigger stage known as real life. Even the great ones occasionally fall. 

Looking back more than a third of a century, we can be proud that Dorchester -- with caring coaches, loyal Dorchester supporters, and involved parents -- was producing incredibly good talent and strong participation in that era. That can be, and should be, the standard today.

Meanwhile, we have no state tourney trophy by which to remember that 1986-87 team -- just some great memories.