From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for June 13, 1973:

Well-known local farmer Alfred Heck passed away this week. Mr. Heck was born in Germany in 1886 and had come to this country as a youngster with his parents and two brothers, who had also become farmers. According to an article in today’s Journal-World, “In the days before World War II, the Heck potato farming operation just northeast of Lawrence was world-famous and that led to Mr. Heck’s becoming known as the Kaw Valley Potato King.” The Heck operation at its peak had commonly produced two or three rail carloads of potatoes a day for shipment throughout the United States. Mr. Heck was survived by his wife Emma, a son, Douglas County commissioner Arthur Heck, and three sisters, as well as numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.