Pahnke / Frieders family history

The Pahnke/Frieders Farm at Site 17 dates back to 1920.

Harold Pahnke's mother was the daughter of Otto Krause (Sites 54, 55, 56 on Eola Road). Harold and his wife Marion moved to Arizona and they return to visit the old farm every year. His sister Evelyn Pahnke Wahl stayed in Batavia until her death in 2001. Harold and Evelyn have shared many of their memories of the farming community with the Fermilab Site History Committee over the years.

Around 1960 the farm was sold to Phillip Frieders who lived in the house at the time of the NAL proposal. Mr. and Mrs. Frieders moved the family farmhouse from the NAL site to Cleveland Street in Batavia and purchased a new farm in Elburn. Some years later they moved back to their Batavia farmhouse after selling their Elburn farm. Their son, Charles Frieders, lives in Belvidere, IL.

Click on individual photographs for more information.

Farm families