Suburbia meets farm life in St. Charles

ST. CHARLES – Linda Holland thought she was going crazy when she first moved to Renaux Manor subdivision and heard a rooster crowing.

"I thought I was losing my mind," Holland said.

But Holland and her husband, Arnie, later found out that they were living next to a farm – Red Roses Farm. A line of trees hide the couple's view of the five-acre farm, which is surrounded on all sides by suburbia.

The couple, who live in a townhouse just south of Pat Bunge's farm, have gotten used to their neighbors. They have lived in the subdivision for more than a year.

"It's like the best of two worlds," Arnie Holland said. "There's the farm here, and there's plenty of shopping nearby."

SFlbSuburbia meets farm life

When Bunge purchased the farm in 1986, fields surrounded the property.

"There was nothing out here," she said.

"Life ended at Randall Road."

The farm, which is located in unincorporated St. Charles Township, has been a part of the landscape for 125 years.

Over the years, Bunge has seen that landscape change, and now Renaux Manor subdivision – located within the city limits of St. Charles – totally surrounds the farm, where she lives with her husband, Steve Cwian, who runs a sales engineering business.

Bunge, who is in her 50s, doesn't mind that suburbia has now come to her doorstep. In fact, a few of her neighbors even help her in the chores associated with running a farm.

"I think my neighbors are delightful," Bunge said.

However, she is jealous of their perfectly manicured lawns.

"I'm my own landscaper," Bunge said. "My neighbors have landscapers."

But problems inevitably arise.

"One time I did get a phone call from someone who asked if the rooster could crow at a more polite time of the day," Bunge said.

That, however, is easier said than done.

"A rooster will crow as soon as it sees a flicker of daylight," Bunge said.

Life on the farm

At the farm, Bunge teaches riding lessons. Before purchasing it, she had leased farms in the St. Charles and Wayne area since 1975.

"Since 1975, I probably have taught half the kids in St. Charles how to ride," Bunge said.

She also is involved in the Fantastics 4-H club, which meets at the farm. This past week, club members were preparing horses to show at the Kane County Fair.

Along with her horses, she has a flock of chickens.

"I get a dozen eggs a day, enough for my household and a couple of my neighbors," Bunge said.

The couple also grows such crops as pears, apples, cherries, tomatoes and lettuce.

"We eat what we grow," Bunge said. "We try not to go to the grocery store much."

Knowing that she doesn't live in the country anymore, Bunge tries to keep her farm as clean as possible.

For example, every week to 10 days she hauls away the manure left by her horses, and she has organic fly traps positioned around the farm to catch them.

"I have very few flies," Bunge said.

She also reaches out to her neighbors. Every 4th of July, she invites her neighbors over to her farm, where they can talk to her about any concerns.

"I've done that for the last eight years," Bunge said. "They have a problem, they can talk about it."

SFlbLiving next to a farm

Standing across from the farm while out for a walk with her dog, Eleanor Wrede said she rarely hears Bunge's rooster. She has lived across the street from the farm for 10 years.

"I love it," Wrede said. "I like horses. It's a quiet neighborhood."

Terri Nardini, another of Bunge's neighbors, helps out at the farm. Her three daughters have taken riding lessons at the farm. Cleaning out a barn and helping a horse give birth are new experiences for Nardini, who grew up near O'Hare International Airport.

"I was a city girl," Nardini said. "I've just learned so much about horses. And it's good for my daughters to come here and lift heavy things and get dirty." 

Over the years, Bunge has received offers from developers wanting to buy her land. But she is not going anywhere.

"I'm for preservation, not development," she said.