Dorchester Times: July 2025

Friday, July 25, 2025

NEWS ROUND-UP: Fun Run, Rib Cook-Off, Street Dance Set For Aug. 16

Aug. 16 Fun Run to Benefit DHS Volleyball: The Longhorn Stampede Color Run is set for Aug. 16. Runners and walkers are welcome. Come out and support the girl's volleyball team. Corporate sponsorships opportunities are available, too. For questions contact Kelli Kohout or Bethany Theis. Register online now. A free-will donation breakfast will be held at the community building that morning by the Dorchester Community Foundation Fund.

Rib Cook-Off Competition, Aug. 16: The Dorchester Community Foundation Fund and Dorchester American Legion Post 264 will host Dorchester's second-annual Rib Cook-Off Competition. In addition to a free-will donation breakfast buffet in the morning, the rib cook-off competition will be followed by a street dance featuring Hardwood Dash and DJ Chum in the evening. See more information at the Foundation Fund's Facebook page.

Husker Volleyball Players Coach Lady Longhorns: Husker volleyball players Andi Jackson and Olivia Mauch hosted a one-day camp with Dorchester Lady Longhorns earlier this month. Local photographer Sharon Axline caught all the action and posted photos online.

Cheer Finally Coming Back to DHS?: Dorchester High School has not had a cheerleading program since the early to mid-1990s. That's a shame. Now, the Times has received word that meetings have been held to gauge interest in resurrecting the cheer program at DHS. Stay tuned.

Robert Moser Passes at Age 89: Dorchester native and DHS alumnus Robert L. Moser, 89, passed on July 4 in Lincoln. Bob was born in Dorchester, Aug. 3, 1935, to Earl and Louise (Dainton) Moser and grew up on a farm near there. He attended White Cloud Country School and Dorchester High School and graduated from the University of Nebraska with a degree in agricultural engineering. He served in the U.S. Navy for 21 years, retiring as a commander. After retirement, he worked at TRW in the Washington, D.C., area. Bob and his wife, Alice, returned to Lincoln in 2018 after two decades in Pennsylvania. Read the full obituary.

Sunday, July 20, 2025

Gold Fever Struck Our Area 130 Years Ago

Gold is currently fetching $3,355 an once -- up from $2,350 a years ago and $1,850 18 months ago. Some critics of the federal government's fiscal policy say gold could soon go for twice or three times the current price as the U.S. debt and the debts of most other nations soar -- and fiat currencies become worth less.

Is it time to start panning Nebraska rivers and creeks for the yellow metal?

There are folks who believe you should try. Watch this video by a guy who touts a successful prospecting trip near the Niobrara River.

Gold has been found in western in rivers that flow from Colorado and Wyoming. Gold in the eastern part of Nebraska has been found in the glacial gold sources around the Nebraska-Missouri border, where it has been trapped, sliding and settling in the flatland.

Nebraska isn't exactly California 1849, but experts say there's still gold to be found here, even in areas like Saline County. Nearly 130 years ago, believe it or not, there was a short-lived gold rush in the Dorchester area.

The Oct. 7, 1895 edition of The New York Times reported: "A raging gold fever has settled down on this section of country over a startling discovery" of gold just north of Dorchester.

According to the publication, the primary source of speculation was a gravel pit near Milford, said to be "rich in gold dust." The pit had been used by Burlington Railway in the construction and upgrade of its rail system.

The Times noted that there was "great excitement in the vicinity of the reputed find" and that speculation was active.

But if you are too skeptical to go panning for gold on the West Fork or Turkey Creek, just take the advice of another YouTube star: Look for buried treasure in old outhouses. Or try looking in one of these five areas where ample gold can still be found.

Sunday, July 13, 2025

Looking Back: County Fair Caused Tensions Between Towns

It's county fair time again -- an annual gathering that is enjoyed by many in our surrounding area. Click here for this year's schedule, which begins Sunday, July 14 and lasts through Sunday, July 20.

But decades ago, the fair was a source of tension in our Saline County community.

According to a Times' reader, Saline County’s first fair was held in October 1872. At that inaugural event, there were 280 entries and 700 in attendance.

The earliest Saline County fairs were held in Crete, in an area near present-day Crist Auto Body on the west end of town. Key attractions back then were horse races and orators. Dorchester’s Ed McIntyre was treasurer of the fair board. In fact, nine of the judges at that first fair in 1872 were from Dorchester.

By 1887, the fair was reported "better than ever." Unfortunately, receipts were not enough to pay expenses.

Meanwhile, Dorchester was busy preparing to host an area reunion of Civil War veterans. By May 1888, Dorchester leaders were so optimistic about the preparations that "a number of citizens from the vicinity" went to a meeting in Crete to propose moving the county fair to Dorchester.

The Dorchester Star reported that "after ridiculing Dorchester in every conceivable manner for insinuating such a thing as having a fair, the meeting adjourned to see if Crete could raise $2,000 to keep it there."

Dorchester's June 1888 veterans' reunion was a huge success. There were grandstands, platforms, pavilions and tents and a crowd "estimated between 1,500 and 15,000." (Yes, that's a big gap in the estimate.) By July of 1888, Dorchester's W. P. Thompson purchased the ground in northeast Dorchester where the reunion was held. Soon after, the parcel came to be known as Thompson’s Rodeo Grounds.

Meanwhile, back in Crete, the September 1888 County Fair was fraught with problems. The 1889 county fair was held in Wilber. After that, Crete and Wilber alternated for several years until 1900.

There were no Saline County fairs held again until 1925. Friend hosted a variety of fairs and racing meets during this time, and also hosted a Junior Fair from 1919 to 1921.

The Saline County Fair was revived in October 1925 on Linden Ave. in Crete. The following year, there were exhibit tents at Tuxedo Park. Gradually, special show buildings were erected at Tuxedo. The Thompson ponies from Dorchester provided rides and shows, and rural schools built special floats for parades.

The rest is history.

*** Fair Highlights From Years Gone By ***

In the 1930s and 40’s, Lillian Vlcek (Rezabek), Bertha Dusanek (Zak), and Jerry Pracheil were rural students winning prizes for posters and penmanship. Harold Krivohlavek and Rudolph Freeouf showed 4-H livestock. Mrs. Albert Boden and Mrs. Stanley Nohavec brought embroidered pillowcases, and later still, Dorothy Feeken entered the hog calling contest.

There’s a photo at the Saline County Museum of the Dorchester Chamber of Commerce parade entry. Herman Schultz, Mike Broz, Ed Spinar, Bill Sanburn, Leonard Pechoucek, Harry Spacek, and John Kenny donned fake moustaches and derby hats, while Frances Spacek and Merle Schultz stand by with long black dresses and Japanese fans. A 1929 Buick pulled a trailer for the musicians, and they all smiled for photographer.

In 1963, it was reported that Anton Tesar drove a 1917 Buick parade entry. The Buick had "9,000 miles on it and original tires."

Sunday, July 6, 2025

Longhorns Youth Football Camp

CORRECTED VERSION 7/6/2025: For Dorchester's future football stars, it is never too early to start brushing up their skills.

The coaches at DHS are offering young players in the Dorchester area a chance to improve their football game or learn the basics.

On Monday through Thursday this week, July 7-10, the DHS Varsity/Junior High Football Camp will be held in Dorchester from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. each day.

Then next Monday and Tuesday, July 14-15, the DHS Youth Football Camp for those in grades 3-8 will be held from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., with high school players helping.

Call the school for more details at (402) 946-2781.

The camps will be conducted at Dorchester's Nerud Field, which in recent years has been upgraded with modern, state-of-the-art lights and a large media stand or crow's nest.

The camps will introduce and reinforce some of the basic fundamentals of football. Included will be: skill development; athletic fundamentals; drill work; position education; team time; and 6-on-6 passing drills.

For more information or to register, contact Brent Zoubek at (402) 418-1019 or 946-2781.

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."