It says something about a community when its Chamber of commerce turns 100 years old. Beyond the countless ribbon cuttings and business-related seminars, a strong chamber signifies a level of commitment to a certain place that fosters a sense of reasonability and caring that not only impacts local businesses but the general health and wellbeing for all who reside in those towns and counties.
So when an institution like the Dorchester Chamber of Commerce becomes a century old, there are good reasons for the whole community to celebrate its important role. And that’s what is going to take place this Saturday on the Lawn of Governors Hall in Cambridge.
And there is plenty to celebrate that day. As Bill Christopher, the Chamber’s president and CEO, tells it in his Spy interview from their new headquarters on High Street, the Dorchester Chamber’s history is a textbook example of how a handful of individuals can change the course for a city like Cambridge.
The first of these was real estate executive Robert Matthews. In 1921, Matthews single-handedly created the Chamber when Dorchester, particularly the city of Cambridge, was losing out to the Western Shore of Maryland in attracting new businesses. As noted by Christopher, Bob Matthews was a force of nature in town. His fingerprints can be found on almost every part of Cambridge’s recent history, including founding the yacht club, the country club, what is now M and T Bank, while also the treasurer for the County and a member of the Dorchester school board.
The example that Robert Matthews set in those early years was a primary motivator in forming the famed Four Horsemen of Dorchester. Four members of the Chamber, Herman Stevens, Bob Davis, Phil Williamson, and Don Holdt, traveled the country from 1958 to 1970 recruiting businesses to locate in Cambridge. Their success was so profound that the unemployment rate of the County when from almost 25% down to less than 5%, which was one of the reasons that their experiences became a book entitled Journal of the Four Horsemen by Robert Davis.
And that example of community support was also seen more recently as the Chamber took the lead in providing critically important information on relief funding to their members amid the COVID pandemic.
Bill provides some important details about this remarkable history and also notes how bright the future looks like both the County and Cambridge slowly crawl out of the worst of the pandemic by mentioning the new Regional Shore Health Center, the opening of the Packing House, and the breathtaking potential of over 40 acres of waterfront land once the old hospital is taken down in the near future.
This video is approximately five minutes in length. For more information about the Dorchester Chamber of Commerce Centennial Celebration please go here.
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