Many Stateliners don't listen to the woodchuck to tell them when spring is coming, instead they watch for a nearly century old tradition. We have the "scoop" on why some are calling today the first day of spring.

Area residents packed into Union Dairy to get their first taste of spring. It first opened its doors in 1914 and has been a Freeport institution ever since.

"You've got to have an ice cream on opening day." "You wait all year for it!" "That's right, yeah you wait all winter so you can come back in the spring."

Jodi Miller has been manager and part owner for seven years and she says it's the community ties that keep people coming back.

"Well it's a huge thing to the community just because they feel like they're a part of it. I have lots of employees that through the years can come and just identify with being here. Older people will walk in in their seventies and say I used to work here when I was a little kid."

The ice cream shop was known as "Alber Ice Cream" for the past decade, but thanks to a new trademark aggreement they've returned to their original name -- Union Dairy. The ice cream recipes of all 51 flavors are still original, and for many, still the best.

"We moved to Rockford, everytime we go to ice cream places over there 'oh let's go back to Freeport and go to the dairy' and oh they come, they'll come."

"(As a three generation right here, what's the family's favorite thing about this place?) "Tradition I think." "Yeah tradition." "Cause it's always been in Freeport and there's no place like it."

Union Dairy does its part to help the local economy. They purchase most of their inventory from local farms and businesses, and for the first year ever they did not raise their ice cream prices.

Union Dairy is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11am to 9pm, and after Memorial Day they will be open daily.

(Chip Brewster is available via email AND facebook... feel free to shoot him a message or friend him at any time)