Dorchester Times: NEWS ROUND-UP: DHS Rocks State Journalism Contest (Again)

Sunday, March 30, 2025

NEWS ROUND-UP: DHS Rocks State Journalism Contest (Again)

Dorchester Rocks State Journalism Contest (Again): Several DHS students competed in the recent Nebraska Journalism Education Association Winter High School Competition. From across the state, 775 entries were received from 32 schools. Dorchester was once again the smallest school represented. Andrea Pavlish received honorable mentions in Yearbook Theme Copy Writing and Yearbook Layout. Gabby Theis received excellent honors in Photo Artistic Illustration and Action Photography. Bailey Theis received an excellent in Action Photography. Joseph Peacock received an honorable mention in Yearbook Feature Writing. Ariana Tellez received an honorable mention in Photo Artistic Illustration. Emilia Perez received an honorable mention in Advertising. The team of Andrea Pavlish, Gabby Theis, and Joseph Peacock received a superior rating in Yearbook Theme Development. They are advised by Mrs. Sandy Severance.

Volunteer Fire and Rescue to Host Brisket Sandwich Meals, April 5: On Saturday, April 5, from 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., the Dorchester Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department will have brisket sandwich meals-to-go at the fire station. Drive-thru or pre-order. Free-will offering. Proceeds to support Dorchester Fire and Rescue expenses and equipment. Order by phone or text: 402-826-7346.

Spring Community Clean-Up: Dorchester community spring clean-up time is here. Roll-offs will be available at the dump site free of charge from April 19 though April 26.

Dump Site is Open: Dorchester's municipal dump site is open on Mondays and Wednesdays from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., weather permitting.

DHS Students at State Speech Competition: DHS sent three Longhorns to the NSAA State Speech Competition in Kearney this week. Competing in the event were Ella Vyhnalek, who performed in the persuasive speech category, along with Owen Vyhnalek and Andrea Pavlish, who performed their comedy duet.

Nominate a Teacher for 10/11 Award: As the school year starts to wind down, think about nominating a great teacher for 10/11's Golden Apple Award. The award is given each month of the school year to an educator having a outstanding impact in our local schools. You can nominate a K-12 teacher, administrator, or support staff member who deserves recognition for the positive effect they’ve had on you, your loved ones, or the community. Use this nomination form.

Food Truck Season Underway: It's time again for the food trucks to visit Main Street Dorchester. These vendors will be parked by the Legion Hall, we are told. Here's the schedule so far:

KennaBells BBQ Monday, March 31
Billies Grilled Cheese, April 7 (10:30 to 2:00 and 4:30-7:30)
Paradise Eats, April 22 (11:00 to 2:00)
KennaBells BBQ, April 28

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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."