Dorchester Historical Center Background
Dorchester Village Historian
Jim Jantsch
It was brought to my attention that it would be beneficial to use modern means and bring the contents of the Dorchester Historical Center to the public via the computer. Establish a web site – take pictures of what is contained within the walls of the Dorchester Library and displayed them on the web for all to see.
This is what was suggested time and time again so after due deliberation – how could I say No. Especially since many of the requests have come from former students of Dorchester High School; some of whom were my classmates and others who were friends for my entire life. Many requests came from people who have suffered serious illnesses and can no longer travel to Dorchester. These individuals would never be able to see what lies inside the walls of the Dorchester Public Library; unless those artifacts of the Historical Center could be brought directly into their living room.
It is my wish that each and everyone who partakes of this endeavor will come away with something more than when what they started with. It is also my wish that many positive suggestions will come as well; ways that the web site can be improved and made better. So here we go – hope you enjoy.
To better understand how the Dorchester Historical Center began and why; I provide here a little insight as to what happened in 2005.
I have always enjoyed history as I firmly believe that the farther one is able to look back; the farther one can look forward. Writing the history of this small hamlet called Dorchester and which I completed in the fall of 2005; with the book titled “The History of Dorchester - Small in Size– Big in History”.
It was exactly at that time that the citizens of Dorchester were informally informed that both the Dorchester Elementary School and the St. Louis Elementary School would both close their doors after the next school year; that an idea sprung forth from within the top membrane.
The next step was to arrange a meeting with the Dorchester Library Board and that was accomplished immediately. That meeting brought a positive response to the question; since they will no longer be a Dorchester school remaining; should we make the library the center of the community? The answer unequivocally was – YES.
At that meeting; it was also decided to raise monies for placing an 2400 sq. ft. addition on the west end of the existing 3000 sq. ft. structure with one third of the new space being reserved for a future Dorchester Historical Center. A center where Dorchester artifacts would be brought and displayed for all to see; especially the young and future residents of the community. This would be a place where the young people could see things that their grandparents would of used. In other words – a place of education – a place where knowledge could be passed from one generation to another. From 2005 until 2011; monies were raised and construction started in the fall of 2011 with a completion date of April 2012. The new structure was now available and the grand opening occurred in June of 2012.
With the facility now ready for occupancy; what type of items would be displayed in the historical center; and why is it called a historical center and not a museum? Good question and the answer is a museum is typically notedfor displaying old items. The Dorchester Historical Center is called a historical center because it is the director's intent to display only items (old and new) which are directly related to Dorchester in some way; either by belonging to a Dorchester area resident or because it was a part of a Dorchester building or the artifact had some other association with the community.
It must be said that this writer had a real ball establishing the historical center. Each and every day that I work on a project for the center is a day that I do not call a wasted day. I truly hope and pray that this attempt at creating a web site so that more people can enjoy viewing the contents of the historical center will be a successful one. I say that; because this individual lacks a lot of knowledge when it comes to those modern devices called puters. It is fortunately that I had the foresight to sign up for Mr. Zier's Business and Typewriter class so I can at least find my way around the keyboard. Actually it is good that I signed up for not just one year but two as one year would not of been sufficient. OK – here is what you can expect on the following pages. A picture of every item in the historical center with words describing the item, where it came from and who donated it; plus special words of interest that the writer feels is needed to enhance the description and/or to provide additional data which should complement the words in front.