Rogan in the 1920's

1927
Ed Rogan Sr. emigrated from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada to Chicago, Illinois quickly to be followed by his brothers Nicholas and Julian. The brothers came over with a trade in carpentry. Leo Baekland, a Belgium chemist, held a patent for phenol-formaldehyde. Phenol-formaldehyde is a necessary product in producing his invention in 1909 of Bakelite, a plastic made from synthetic components. In 1927 Bakeland’s patent expired and the world was able to embrace Bakelite in the production of household goods and personal accessories from pens to art deco jewelry. On October 29th, 1929 the New York Stock Exchange crashed and “The Great Depression” was soon to follow.