Dean-Hey Heritage

"When we had Thanksgiving dinner at Uncle Clement's, our only entertainment was to go out in the garage and sit in his Pierce-Arrow automobile. Favorite spot: the jump seat." (recollection by Janna Hey Dean)

Inside Uncle Clement's garage hung a sign: "Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men (Prov.22:29). Interestingly, because of Hey Brothers Ice Cream Company, Uncle Clement's nephew, Jim Hey, was photographed with President Reagan in 1984 when the President returned to his boyhood home in Dixon, Illinois."

"My dad knew Ron as a boy. Although Ron was several years older, he knew my dad because Ron had gone out with his sister, Aunt Beulah. Also, my Dad's first cousin Dwayne Andreas (my dad's closest first cousin) had been quite close to Ron and donated the first Reagan statue (by the boyhood home) in honor of my dad. There is another copy of the statue near ADM in Decatur and when my dad was working on the committee for the house he asked Dwayne if he could give one to Dixon. And he did." (by James Hey, son of Jim Hey, son of Henry Hey)

I mowed the lawn for Uncle Clement. I knew, of course, that he was worth millions. Yet he was plain, simple, and good. He mirrored the classical Roman and old American ideal of stoic simplicity. He was good to work for. He paid $10 for a 2 hour lawn job. Good money for a teen in the late 1960's.

Uncle Clement loved to play shuffleboard. The court was between the carport and the garage. I can still see Uncle Clement and his friends, summer afternoons, enjoying shuffleboard and sipping lemonade.

Sketch of Uncle Clement's Home
810 Locust, Sterling, Illinois
from a booklet of sketches of significant homes and buildings in Sterling, drawings by David Alan Badger