CBS 2 Vault: A visit to the Ho-Ka Turkey Farms with Bob Wallace
WATERMAN, Ill. (CBS) -- This Thanksgiving is the last for the Ho-Ka Turkey Farms in Waterman, Illinois after 90 years.
The Kauffman family, which has operated the farm from the beginning, has decided to retire from its turkey growing, farming, processing, and retail operation.
Ho-Ka – short for Howard Kauffman Turkey Farms – was founded in 1933 by Howard Kauffman. He raised the first flock of 300 turkeys at the farm on Leland Road in Waterman, according to the DeKalb County History Center.
As of 2020, Ho-Ka was believed to be the largest turkey farm in the state – and produced about 70,000 turkeys a year for sale in Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin, according to the history center.
But this year, Robert Kauffman – son of the founder – decided to retire. The farm said on its website that it did not raise turkeys this year, but has still been selling frozen products.
In years past, the Ho-Ka Turkey farm was the scene for an annual Thanksgiving tradition on CBS 2. Each year, the late Bob Wallace made his way out west to the farm for up-close-and-personal visit with its flock of gobbling turkeys.
The above video is from Wallace's visit 40 years ago. It first aired on Friday, Nov. 11, 1983.
Wallace got a little lesson from Ho-Ka general manger Tom Klopfenstein about turkey behavior. When the turkeys' normally red heads start turning blue, they're getting excited.
Klopfenstein told Wallace it is only male turkeys that do the gobbling. He added that female turkeys are smarter and more cunning as they stay back to protect themselves – while the males just plow ahead.
The turkeys did not seem to be aggressive as Wallace stood in the middle of the flock for his stand-up shot, but they were not exactly behaving themselves either. They all stepped on the microphone cord, made noise, and insisted on getting in the picture – not unlike some TV shoots that involve turkeys of the metaphorical variety.
But as the archive shows he did every year, Wallace still passed the turkeys the microphone and asked them to say hello to CBS 2's principal anchors – Harry Porterfield, Don Craig, and Walter Jacobson. Our anchors' reaction to being greeted by a gobbling flock of turkeys, unfortunately, was not available on the archive tape from which this is sourced.
Twelve days later on Nov. 23, 1983 – the day before Thanksgiving – Wallace had another report on turkeys. This one was from the kitchen of the old Lawry's the Prime Rib restaurant at 100 E. Ontario St.
In addition to some straightforward advice for seasoning, cooking, and carving the bird, Lawry's executive chef Hans Aeschbacher told Wallace that chefs have "blue blood," which he said as he stuck his finger into a gravy of pan drippings and port wine to taste it – despite the fact that it appeared to be boiling.
CBS 2 Vault: Cooking and carving a turkey with Bob Wallace
Back at Ho-Ka Turkey Farms, the retail store will be closed until Monday of next week, and then open by appointment only. An auction is also planned on Dec. 1-2 at the farm to sell off farm equipment the first day, and turkey processing equipment the second.