Tom Eickman and his wife, Katie, represent the next in a line of family members that have overseen Eickman’s Processing, maintaining its tradition as an award-winning, widely respected meat processor. Exactly which generation he represents is up for debate.
John Eickman was a train depot master in Seward, Ill. who, in his spare time, would help neighbors butcher their livestock. His son, Merlyn, was born in the top floor of the depot. When that building was demolished in 1943, John bought a local creamery to process animals. He never officially christened the business after his family name, but he did establish the family in the meat business.