Dorchester Times: NEWS ROUND-UP: Phil And Bernice Weber Celebrate 70 Years

Friday, July 10, 2026

NEWS ROUND-UP: Phil And Bernice Weber Celebrate 70 Years

Webers Celebrate 70th Wedding: Dorchester's Phil and Bernice (Abrahams) Weber were married July 8, 1956 in Utica and are celebrating their 70th anniversary this week. They have three children: Larry (and Faye) Weber, Dorchester; Lyle (and Cathy) Weber, Dorchester; and (Ron and) Lori Schultz, Lincoln. The Webers also have nine grandkids and 13 great-grandkids. To help Phil and Bernice celebrate, cards may be sent to 419 County Road 1400, Dorchester, NE 68343.

Lola Sue's, Dorchester's New Coffee Shop and Bakery, Is Open: For those who haven't yet tried it, Dorchester's newest business is Lola Sue's Coffee Shop & Bakery at 102 East 8th Street on Main Street (Washington Avenue). Serving food, specialty drinks, and impressive lineup of baked goodies, this family-owned business lives by this motto: "Bites of happiness, sips of joy — coffee, desserts, breakfast & lunch at Lola Sue’s." Call 402-366-5098 for details and more information.

Saline County Is No Longer in Drought: The latest University of Nebraska Drought Monitor map shows 100% of the county is no longer in drought conditions or even abnormally dry. Recent rains have removed event the "abnormally dry" shadings from the map. Meanwhile, most of Nebraska's panhandle is in extreme or exceptional drought following months of no to little precipitation.

Funeral Services for Larry Kahle, July 18: Dorchester's Larry J. Kahle, 83, passed away on June 28 in Crete. Larry spent his life farming and trucking. He enjoyed going to and competing in tractor pulls, hunting, watching local races and Nascar races on TV. He married Jean Justa in 1972, and helped her raise her two children, Candy and Wes. A graveside service will be held on Saturday, July 18, at 11 a.m. at the Dorchester Community Cemetery followed by lunch at the Dorchester American Legion. See Larry's full obituary.

Dorchester's Annual Rib Cook-Off Is Aug. 15: Get ready for summer BBQ. On Saturday, Aug. 15, the Dorchester Community Foundation Fund will host its first annual rib cook-off, or "Ribfest," and street dance. This event, which will be held at the Dorchester American Legion building, will feature some of the area's best cooks as they vie to be named the rib cook-off champ. More information will be coming soon.

Dorchester United Methodist Church's Vacation Bible School, July 27-30: Dorchester United Methodist Church will host its annual Vacation Bible School at the church from July 27-30. This year's theme is "Surprise Party VBS." Bible school begins on Monday, July 27, with registration (for all area children) from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. RSVP by July 13 to get a t-shirt. All are invited to attend. Contact Hannah Railsback at 402-335-0361 for more information or to register.

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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."