Dorchester Times: May 2024

Sunday, May 12, 2024

NEWS ROUND-UP: Village Water Restrictions Now in Effect

Three 'Horns Headed to State Track Meet: DHS is sending three qualifiers to Omaha for the 2024 State Track and Field Championship. This comes after Bailey Theis placed first in shot put at last week's District D-1 meet in Pawnee City. Amber Kotas placed second in shot put, while Baylor Behrens placed second in the 300 meter hurdles. Impressive performance from these fine athletes.

Elementary Field Day Rescheduled: Due to rainy weather, the DPS Elementary Field Day scheduled for tomorrow, May 13, has been moved to the rain date, which is Tuesday, May 14. Tomorrow will be a regular school day, school officials say.

Village Water Restrictions Now in Effect: While the rain in our area has been plentiful this spring -- so far -- the water aquifers under our feet have a long way to go to refill after punishing drought over the last year and substantial water use for irrigated crops. Dorchester now has water restrictions in effect. Watering of lawns will be restricted. Odd numbered houses will be permitted to water on odd-numbered days; even-numbered homes will be allowed to water on even-numbered days. This will be enforced, we are told.

Dorchester Water Park Open for the Season: Dorchester's area-famous splash pad will be open May 13, weather permitting. Due to the water restriction we have for the town at this time, the daily splash pad hours will be 1-7 p.m. Memorial Weekend, the hours will be 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

School Out for the Summer on May 17: Dorchester Public School will conclude another school year this Friday, May 17. Students in kindergarten through 11th grade will be dismissed at 11:30 a.m. Friday.

Exeter-Milligan and Friend to Consolidate: Exeter-Milligan and Friend Public Schools will consolidate for all activities and academic beginning in August 2025. Read the story.

Four-Way Race for County Commissioner: There are four candidates vying to fill the seat currently held by current County Commissioner Marvin Kohout. Keep in mind the yearly salary for this position is about $40,000 (50% of the county treasurer's pay, according to county minutes). The Crete News has published answers from all four candidates regarding an array of topics. We couldn't help but notice an odd answer from Ray Rohrig of Friend, who said he just recently changed his voter registration to Republican. He told the paper he forgot to switch back to the GOP after temporarily registering to be a Democrat in the late 1970s -- the 1970s! -- even though he "votes and thinks" like a Republican. Later, he lamented that if property taxes are reduced, "other means of revenue would need to be implemented so services today are here tomorrow." Another tax? What does Rohrig have in mind -- a county sales tax? Doesn't sound like a Republican.

24 Longhorns Receive Their Diplomas

The caps, tassles, gowns, and Kleenex were on full display Saturday, May 11.

That's when Dorchester High School will held graduation ceremonies for 24 Longhorn seniors.

Believe it or not, DHS graduated more seniors than Friend, Exeter, and Milligan combined.

Saturday's graduation ceremonies began at 3:35 p.m. in the DHS gym. The class motto was "GPS said it's my turn." The class song was "Don't Blink" by Kenny Chesney. The class colors were gold and white, while the class flower was the white rose.

Here are the members of DHS' Class of 2024:

- Nancy Alcaide

- Victor Alegria Lopez

- Suyapa Armas

- Dusty Banks

- Kayli Carey

- Israel Cornejo

- Andy Drake

- Marcos Gonzalez

- Jacob Hatfield

- Ashton Jirsa

- Quinn Kasl

- Stephanie Korinek

- Amber Kotas

- Victoria Leavitt

- Addison Lehr

- Elsy Loarca

- William Paiz

- Mitzu Real

- Owen Real

- Makayla Schlueter

- Hailey Schweitzer

- Bryer Shaw

- Veronica Tercero

- Madison Theis

Our heartiest of congratulations to DHS' Class of 2024. Make Dorchester proud -- and do all you can to improve our society, economy, and quality of life.

Tuesday, May 7, 2024

Old Howlett Produce Building Is Torn Down

Dorchester's Howlett Produce Station, under owner Bill Howlett, operated from 1948 to 1968 just south of the city park. Whether you needed feed or eggs, you could find it at Howlett's store.

Even today, you can still find some of the promotional goodies that Bill and his family gave to customers.

The structure that housed Howlett's historic business no longer stands as of this week. It was razed after decades of neglect and disrepair.

Owner L.J. Barley, owner of Barley Specialties, is making business-related plans for the land where the Howlett building stood.

Readers are welcome to leave their memories in the comment section below.

Sunday, May 5, 2024

Looking Back: The School Buildings Of Dorchester

On May 25, Dorchester High School will welcome back alumni for its annual alumni banquet. And thoughts will quickly turn to the old days.

Did you know that Dorchester is currently on its fifth school building in the past 150-plus years. It's true.

More than 15 years since the construction of the current Dorchester Public School building, we're taking a look at the history of the structures that have housed our community's educational system.

1872 School Building

The first term of school taught in Dorchester took place in 1872 at a select school held in the McIntyre family home, which happened to be Dorchester's first house and was located near the present Methodist Church.

Also in 1872, District No. 44 -- the present school district -- was organized, even though there were only 21 children of school age residing in the district.

Later that year -- nine years prior to Dorchester's official founding -- nearly $3,000 in bonding authority was approved to build Dorchester's first schoolhouse, which was a two-story building. The first floor of the 1872 school was used for school instruction, while the upper level was used for public meetings and worship services. In fact, it was here that the Dorchester Methodist Church first organized around 1874.

By 1879, more than 100 pupils were enrolled in Dorchester Public School.

1890 School Building

By 1883, the town's longest running newspaper, The Dorchester Star, was advocating for the construction of a larger school.

Six years later, in 1889, district patrons approved $12,000 in bonding authority to build a new school that was built in 1890 (pictured above). What a grand structure it was, sitting where today's gym is located.

During the 1911 school year, Dorchester was formally organized as a K-12 district. The class of 1914 was the first DHS class to graduate from an accredited twelve-grade high school.

1927 School Building

As more area families placed greater importance on education, the 1926 Dorchester school board voted to build a new school -- just 35 years after the completion of the 1890 school building.

The bond election was successful by a two-to-one margin and a new three-story school building was completed in December 1927. It sat where the current DPS Library is.

The DHS Class of 2020 was the first class not to have attended school in the 1927 building.

A large addition to the 1927 school was approved in May 1963 for approximately $300,000. It included the present-day basketball/volleyball gymnasium, cafeteria, hallway classrooms, and music room.

The 1964 gym and cafeteria are still standing and in use. Both have been renovated in recent years and look as fresh as the rest of the school building, which was built during the summer of 2008 following overwhelming voter approval for a $4.5 million bond issue to construct the new building.

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."