July 07th, 2008 | Category: General
TURKEY HILL HISTORY: THE STORY OF ARMOR FREY
Posted by: Turkey Hill Team
The following is an excerpt from our official history book, Turkey Hill: A Family Vision. To purchase your own copy, visit our online store.
Armor Frey, founder of Turkey Hill Dairy, was born in 1896. As a testament to his parents, Fred and Alice, he was a man of strong convictions. His sentiments not only shaped how he farmed, but also how he treated his employees. Such a spirit was evident in 1931 when he started bottling and selling milk to support not only his family and farm, but also his hired men.
Armor did not consider himself a businessman. He was a farmer who worked hard and, as time allowed, played hard too. He enjoyed having fun with his family as well as his employees. They often played baseball in the meadow during noontime breaks and had water battles at the end of the long hot day’s work. Armor loved to be outdoors, be it working in the fields, fishing in the pond, or hunting.
He and his wife, Mary, had seven children: Glenn, Emerson, Paultine, Charles, Lillian, Jay, and Eunice. Armor was the spiritual head of his family and always took them to church on the Sabbath. To make it easier on the children, Armor carried a pocketful of wintergreen candy with him. At the end of the service, when the adults joined in conversation, he passed out candy to the children as they waited patiently.
On the day Armor died in 1969, he worked all day picking corn from the field. When he sat down to rest, he said he was tired and went to bed. He passed away that night in his sleep at the age of 73, leaving behind a legacy of faith and a caring spirit. Through hard work, he also left behind his business, which is still proudly called Turkey Hill Dairy.
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60 Comments
[...] – bookmarked by 4 members originally found by Liliachan2 on 2009-01-29 TURKEY HILL HISTORY: THE STORY OF ARMOR FREY [...]
February 22nd, 2009 at 10:45 amI feel privaleged to be linked to this man my great Grandfather and wished I would’ve had the pleasure of knowing him. My dad followed his tradition with mints at church.
January 22nd, 2009 at 7:51 pmWow. That all brings a tear to my eye. I bet Armor would be horrified at what Turkey Hill is doing today. I bet he wouldn’t let you all get away with what you are doing. What are you doing? Check it out:
http://tinyurl.com/5dgqgz
September 5th, 2008 at 12:12 pmi can remember as a child helping to make ice cream, everyone turning the handle. i can also remember my grandmother buying us ice cream every saturday night, for a treat. i would love to have a job tasting ice cream
July 19th, 2008 at 12:19 pmTrue love and joy from Mr. Frey through his obvious faith in God laid a strong foundation of excellence for the Turkey Hill Company. I would have been privileged and proud to have been one of his employees back then. How blessed we all are by his vision!
July 13th, 2008 at 10:01 pmArmor Frey sounds like a very hardworking, devoted, accomplished, talented man. I hope he was reworded for all his achievements with a lot of tastey ice cream!
July 13th, 2008 at 7:10 pmTHANK YOU ARMOR FOR CREAMING THE WAY TO A DELICIOUS FUTURE.
July 13th, 2008 at 9:54 amA great business founded on the legacy of a great man. Sounds like a solid foundation to me!
Raise a scoop to Mr. Armor!
July 12th, 2008 at 9:50 amI loved the story of the founder of Turkey Hill.He must have been a really fine man.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:32 amMr. Frey was an exellent example of a godly man. And proves that just because you believe in God doesn’t make you a stuffed shirt. His family can be proud of their heritage.
July 9th, 2008 at 9:26 pmNice to read some history. I always learn great information from this blog. Thanks Turkey Hill!
July 9th, 2008 at 8:18 pmTo all those who said taking the Bible and prayer out of the schools really has hurt this country. It really is a shame he had to die so young. We have enjoyed many snacks of Turkey Hill Ice Cream in our family.
July 9th, 2008 at 6:22 pmIsn’t it a shame that most of our coutry has lost the spirit of God, Family, Work & Play and fellowship of man. Hopefully this country will wake up itn time to correct its ways.
July 9th, 2008 at 11:48 amFamily and Turkey Hill Ice Cream just go together. There is nothing better.
July 9th, 2008 at 9:34 amI think our county would be better off
July 9th, 2008 at 7:25 amwith a herritage & convictions Like Armor must have had, & to put GOD back into our county like the signers of the Declaration of Independent did.
GREAT Ice cream just got (2) 1/2 gals today .
I love Turkey Hill!!!!!
July 9th, 2008 at 7:06 amDoes Ernie fit somewhere into the Frey family? Cousin? Small town neighbor?
July 9th, 2008 at 12:08 amI really enjoy learning history of Lancaster, and the people who made their marks in that town. I really enjoy the ice cream from this wonderful founder of Turkey Hill..
July 8th, 2008 at 8:15 pmTo bad Armor isn’t with us today, if he was maybe he could run for president! Sure better than the three we’ve had so far—the “best” this country has to offer!!!
July 8th, 2008 at 5:22 pmSimply stated, inspiring!
July 8th, 2008 at 4:40 pmHere’s to you Armor! A person that really understood what life is about.
July 8th, 2008 at 4:36 pmHis faith has kept the business going.
July 8th, 2008 at 2:42 pmWhat great foundation he laid for Turkey Hill Dairy. Seems like his legacy lives on today.
July 8th, 2008 at 1:12 pmSuch a wonderful story about the founder of Turkey Hill. His family certainly has a wonderful legacy and should be very proud to have someone who had such strong convictions in work, play and faith as their ancestor.
July 8th, 2008 at 1:02 pmWhat a wonderful family man and to show such great work ethic to his employees, family and friends is a true tribute to his legacy….
July 8th, 2008 at 12:25 pmMr. Frey was certainly an honest, hard-working individual. What a greater nation we would be with more employers like Mr. Frey!
July 8th, 2008 at 11:35 amArmor is my kind of guy!
July 8th, 2008 at 9:19 amOur society need more people like Armor. Think how much better our world might be if we all aspired to this type of life style.
July 8th, 2008 at 9:03 amLiving the Ameerican Dream and leaving a wonderful legacy.
July 8th, 2008 at 8:52 amWouldn’t it be great if every boss could treat their employees like Armor did. I don’t think we’d have the labor problems that we do now. A little bit of caring and respect goes a long way!
July 8th, 2008 at 8:31 amFor all Turkey Hill fans, I highly recommend the book Turkey Hill: A Family Vision.
July 8th, 2008 at 8:15 amHe sounds like both a wonderful family man and also employer. I shared hios care for the employees when i owned my business. In addition,, a wonderful ice cream. Great to hear the family is involved in the business. {no melt down– pun intended}
July 8th, 2008 at 8:12 amthis is an inspiring story, but on another note, the July poll seems to indicate that there are a lot of us carton eaters. I can proudly say that it is easier to eat from the carton now that my parents have passed away.
July 8th, 2008 at 8:00 amI never realized Turkey Hill has been around that long! Shame on our local stores for taking so long to carry their products! All those years we were missing out on that delicious ice cream!
July 8th, 2008 at 7:14 amArmor is a legend! Thanks to Armor we can all enjoy Turkey Hill a TERRIFIC product for ever!
July 8th, 2008 at 7:07 amThank you for sharing the story. I am happy to hear the family continues to remain in the business.
July 8th, 2008 at 6:28 amThanks for sharing the Turkey Hill story. Sounds like a wonderful family.
July 8th, 2008 at 6:23 amHe was a great man, Father,husbad,and a Family Man.This was a great story. Thank You Turkey Hill for geving us this story. We should sat aside one day to celebrate his name.Eat Turkey Hill ICe Cream all day in his name.
July 8th, 2008 at 6:12 amI also like that he took his family to church too.
Armor was a great man who thought of others before himself.I particularly like the part of passing out candy to children after Services on the Sabbath. I’m sure they looked forward to it each week.
July 8th, 2008 at 5:56 amWhat an amazing story. Everyone should have a bowl of Turkey Hill to toast to Armor for all his achievements, what an amazing person and Turkey Hill is amazing ice cream.
July 8th, 2008 at 2:31 amArmor would be proud of where the company stands today.
July 7th, 2008 at 10:02 pmArmor Frey left a legacy. I always look for Turkey Hill products when on vacation, and they are found in most locations. I also notice Turkey Hill products being consumed on situation comedies.
July 7th, 2008 at 9:37 pmIt is good to learn that Turkey Hill was founded by a man of faith and decency.If every company cares for the well-being of its employees, America will become an even better nation in which to live.
July 7th, 2008 at 6:09 pmWhat a lovely story. A man that was wonderful to his employers and enjoyed life to his end.
July 7th, 2008 at 2:37 pmwhat a wonderful story . HIS CAREING SPIRIT LIVES ON IN THRU TURKEY HILL, JUST AS THE COWS IN THE GREEN PASTURE , MAKING MILK FOR THE RICH TURKEY HILL ICE CREAM
July 7th, 2008 at 2:23 pmWhat an inspiring story.
July 7th, 2008 at 2:10 pmWe as Americans strive to be hard workers; dedicated individuals that try to make a difference in a land where opportunity is boundless. To become an entrepreneur and being able to pass on a legacy from generation to generation is what makes America one of the greatest places to live and work. Turkey Hill is a prime example of this and what it means to come from basically nothing to one of the finest companies in the country through hard work, dedication, and moral values.
July 7th, 2008 at 1:29 pmPeople like Armor are an inspiration. It’s always uplifting to hear about them.
July 7th, 2008 at 1:15 pmThose were the days of REAL simplicity. Hard Work, Leisure when the work is done, honor, integrity and love for thy neighbor.
I believe it still exhists in some form. May be slightly different these days, but I’d like to think that great men and women like Mr. Frey led by example and shared their wealth and perspective with those around them to leave that legacy which still exhists within your Turkey Hill Farm.
July 7th, 2008 at 1:09 pmThanks for the history lesson. What would he thnk of all the wonderful flavor and flavor combinations you make? I bet he’d be thrilled!!!
July 7th, 2008 at 12:55 pmStrong Convictions and hard work are what makes America a great country to live in! We need to hear more stories like this for our youth to copy.
July 7th, 2008 at 12:52 pmWhat a legacy you have guiding your future!
July 7th, 2008 at 12:52 pmHe was a great man! It’s fun to hear stories about Armor from Quintin Frey (Armor’s grandson and the current president of Turkey Hill) and the rest of the Frey family.
July 7th, 2008 at 12:31 pmHe sounds like someone to be proud of having in their family history!
July 7th, 2008 at 12:05 pmWe need to tell more stories about people like Mr. Frey. These are people I want my children to admire.
July 7th, 2008 at 11:40 amA company history to be proud of!
July 7th, 2008 at 11:18 amI also enjoyed reading about Armor…work hard, play hard, and gives thanks each week for all we have…never thought about wintergreen candy though…it was always cheerios when my boys were younger…
July 7th, 2008 at 11:09 amThanks for the sharing his story…
If only more people today were like Armor, the world might be a different place. He took pride in his family, pride in his work and yet appeared like a very humble man. A man of faith and love, who’s compassion seemed to over flowed in to every area of his life. What a gift, I’m glad to support great products founded on such wonderful principles and ideals.
July 7th, 2008 at 10:35 amArmor sounded like a honorable man. Wish I could’ve met him.
July 7th, 2008 at 9:11 amSo nice to read a little history of the Turkey Hill founder. Glad to see he understood how children can be in church and waiting for adults to quit gabbing(understandably!)! Good man, great ice cream!
July 7th, 2008 at 9:06 amThese comments are intended to be a discussion of the information presented in the blog postings. Any product-related questions or other issues not related to the post should be referred to our consumer response team through the link on our Contact Us page, as they are the true experts in answering any questions or concerns you may have about Turkey Hill and its products.
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