Mallie (Malcom, top left waving hand) Roe selling horses at Roe’s Consignment Sale (now called Chana Sale Barn), Chana, Illinois, 1939. The man on the horse is George Cross who worked for Mallie.

In 1933, Malcom (Mallie) Roe started a consignment sale business at Chana, Ogle County, Illinois. Soon the sale site was moved to a farm north-west of Chana. Roe’s Consignment Sale started as a live-stock auction. In 1939, it was moved again to its present location (S. Stonehill Road north of Illinois Route 64) and in 1965-1966 the present buildings were erected. In the early days, feeder pigs sold for $1.00, corn for 12 cents per bushel, and oats for eight cents per bushel. Many farmers used corn for fuel in their stoves, because for them it was cheaper than coal. Mallie's son, John M. Roe served as a navigator on a B24 during WW II. After his discharge, John attended the Reppert Auctioneering School located in Decatur, Indiana. In 1948 he graduated and joined his father’s business. He started a Feeder Cattle Auction on Thursday nights. Most of the cattle that were auctioned were purchased from south and south-east areas of US. They were sorted and sold in package lots to cattle feeders in the Chana area. In 1970 Roe’s Consignment Sale became RCS Incorporated having as many as 80 stock-holders from northern Illinois.

At its peak John operated live-stock auctions and Russell and Rogene Schier operated the outside (merchandise) auction. The cattle and hog industry in Ogle County changed because farmers mostly discontinued feeding cattle and raising hogs, as such is now done by few large farm operations and corporate feed lots. These feeder operations now sell directly to meat packers. RCS ceased operation. John retired and now lives in Rochelle. He said that he enjoyed meeting people from northern Illinois and adjoining states and that he lived all his life within five miles of Kyte River.

RCS was replaced by the Chana Auction Barn. In 2012 it was owned by Don and Linda Ebersole and Nate Mattison. The auction is every Tuesday at 9:00. On busy days, attendants might number 1,000. Many items are auctioned: household items, antiques, tools, hay and straw, garden produce, mushrooms in season, etc. Sometimes there are unique items auctioned like a set of dueling pistols.

Photo courtesy Ogle County Historical Society

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