Business owner honors family's legacy of hard work with Lambs Farm garden
An oasis of tranquillity: A pleasant place that provides serenity. That describes the Ed, Olga and JJ Rogan Tribute Garden at Lamb Farms near Libertyville.
In 2011, Lambs Farm celebrated its 50th anniversary and Dianne Yanconetti, the organization's president and chief executive officer, wanted something to mark the momentous milestone. She decided on creating a garden — lined with trees, shrubs, a meandering sidewalk overlooking a pond with waterfalls — on a portion of Lambs Farm property.
A story ran in the Daily Herald last August about Yanconetti's ambition and that she was seeking donations to build the garden. One person who read that story was Ed Rogan Jr.
“We had been looking for many years for a way to honor my parents and uncle JJ Rogan, immigrants whose value of hard work, laughter, respect and pride in American citizenship resulted in success. They never forgot that they started at the bottom of the economic ladder. The opportunity to name this tribute garden after them is very gratifying to the Rogan family and will resonate with us for years to come,” explained Rogan, 72, owner of Rogan Corporation — a Northbrook maker of custom injection liquid silicone products.
The Rogan family has a soft spot for Lambs Farm because of its work with developmentally disabled people. Although no one in Rogan's family is developmentally disabled, Rogan said his parents — Ed Rogan Sr. and Olga Rogan and his uncle Jim “JJ” Rogan — began a family tradition many years ago of eating at the Lambs Farm Country Inn Restaurant several times a week, including Christmas Eve dinner.
The story of the Rogan family begins during the 1920s. Ed Rogan Sr. moved from Canada to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1929, and a few months later to Chicago. Later, his brothers Jim and Nick would also move from Canada to live with Ed Sr. The only work the brothers could find was intermittent odd jobs. That is, until they decided to open their own company in 1934. About the time they started their company, Ed Sr. met his future wife, Olga — who had also migrated with her family from Canada — at a dance in Chicago.
They married in January 1936. Because money was tight, their one-night honeymoon consisted of them going to watch the Blackhawks play a hockey game in the old Chicago Stadium.
Many years later, Ed Rogan Jr. bought the company from his dad and his uncle. The once-struggling Rogan Corporation now has annual sales of $10 million, according to the younger Rogan.
Because of his family's early struggles to find work, Rogan knows meaningful work brings dignity to a person. And it is because Lamb Farms provides meaningful work to those who are struggling that Rogan Jr. didn't flinch while donating $250,000 for the tribute garden.
“I felt good donating this money to celebrate the lives of my parents and Uncle JJ while helping an institution in need,” Rogan Jr. said.
To honor or memorialize family or friends with planters, plaques, bricks, seating areas, pathways and other garden features, contact Joanie Bayhack at (847) 990-3733 or email jbayhack@lambsfarm.org.