Whitey’s Ice Cream was established on the corner of 16th Street and 23rd Avenue in Moline in 1933 by Chester “Whitey” Lindgren, who was so nicknamed because of his white-blonde hair.  In 1935, Whitey hired a fifteen year-old boy named Bob Tunberg, who worked for Whitey throughout high school and on and off for several years.  Whitey and Bob became close friends, and in 1953, Whitey offered to sell the business to Bob and his wife, Norma.

Bob and Norma made ice cream during the day, and they worked in the store selling their product at night.  As soon as sons, Jeff and Jon, were old enough, they joined the “family business,” picking up trash in the parking lot before they went to school each morning.  Working with and observing their father through the ensuing years gave them a strong sense of the value of hard work and great customer service.  Today, Jeff and Jon work side-by-side as Co-Owners of the company, and the title, President, remains open in honor of their father, “The Quad Cities Favorite Ice Cream Man,” who passed away in 1991. 

Whitey’s Ice Cream has appeared on the Food Network and has also been named “Best in the Midwest” according to the readers of Midwest Living Magazine in 2006.  Their history offers clear insight into the way they operate.