Sterling Daily Gazette, August 26, 1937
The Gazette corroborated what Uncle Clement wrote, that the Hey Brothers were always on the cutting edge of technology and modernization. Uncle Clement built an "ultra-modern dairy barn" on Freeport Road, a mile north of Sterling. "There was improvement when there was electricity on the farms to pump water. There was a big improvement as milking machines replaced hand milking. When we learned that massaging the cows' teats and bag with warm water made the milk glands start secreting faster so that more time was gained than lost, we offered a premium of 10¢ for milk that showed no sediment whatever. We were way ahead of the others in this. "Then International Harvester Co. sold us electric milk coolers to cool the water down so the milk was probably 45 degrees. We bought them and paid a little premium to the farmers so the coolers would pay for themselves in two to three years, way ahead of the others here. "Some years later along came bulk milk tanks from which tank trucks picked up the milk and cans were abolished. The bulk milk tanks cooled the milk immediately to 38 degrees and the hauler checked the temperature of the milk each trip. We then had the best modern way. We bought the tanks and premiums paid for them and we charged for the hauling." (from "The Story of My Lifetime of 86 Years," by Clement Hey) Two of Uncle Clement's barns were featured on the 2008 Whiteside County Barn Tour. The "ultra-modern dairy barn" on Freeport Road is described in the Sauk Valley Newspaper. Both barns, now know as the Cassens Barn and the Fassler Barn, are sketched and described in the tour booklet. Grandpa Hey owned the Cassens farm and barn from 1951-1967. Grandpa Hey had had a heart attack in 1951 and was told not to return to the management of operations at Hey Brothers. Uncle Clement traded the farm for Grandpa's shares in Hey Brothers Ice Cream.
the development of milk regulations
and Hey Brothers' excellence