In 1956, Fred Voll and his wife Käthe came from Schweinfurt, Bavaria, Germany, bringing with them their craftsmanship, old fashioned values, $53.00 in their pockets, a 2-year-old son and a crate of belongings to America.
They got off the boat in New York City and headed to Fargo North Dakota, where a Colonel in the Army had sponsored them. Fred got a job in the Armour packing plant, walking 12 miles daily to work and back, because he had no car. Later he took a local job with Red Owl grocery store as a butcher.
Prior to coming to America, Fred, at the age of 13, had started as an apprentice meat cutter for .25 cents a week working from 4 am to 8pm. After passing the apprentice program, he attended a German sausage school and became a Master Sausage Maker.
Although at first Fred had problems communicating with English-speaking customers, he quickly became familiar with the language. To help accelerate their assimilation in America, Fred and Kathe bought a used television to study the words used in commercials which helped to build their language, knowledge and understanding. As a result, Fred was assigned more and more job responsibilities at Red Owl, and soon became savvy in running a business.
In 1959, when a position with Red Owl opened in Madison, Wisconsin, Fred was asked to relocate his family and take the job. After a short time, Fred was promoted to Manager of the meat department. He always had hoped to get into a business for himself, so he started a franchise distributing cakes for SaraLee.
In 1962, Fred decided to put his experience, knowledge and training in the meat business to work. With his background, he purchased some old sausage making equipment and opened a small store front in downtown Madison. Fred made his homemade Authentic German brats and people all over came and wanted more! Bavaria’s reputation grew and soon outgrew its existing space.
Fred and Kathe purchased land, designed and built a state-of-the-art, Federal Inspected sausage making plant in Fitchburg, Wisconsin. This is where the sausage is still crafted today, in the same way it always has been.
Fred loved his work and customers with all his heart. He enjoyed making his special hams, Blood & Tongue products and Sulze. He personally ran a delivery route in the City of Madison, Wisconsin, until he passed away in August 2015 at the age of 83.
In June 2023, Bavaria Sausage came under new ownership by Scott and Lisa Stowell. They quickly recognized the specialness of Bavaria and instantly fell in love with honoring and maintaining the history and artisanship for years to come.