In 1945 Ralph was discharged from the army air corps after flying B-17 bombing missions in WWII. He was discharged from the 557th Army Air Force Base Unit,7th Ferry Group, Gore Field, Montana on November 9th, 1945.

Ralph wanted to get back into the coal business and running shovel again. He began to work driving truck for $0.50/hour for Al Smith who was in Ohio; Al Smith had met Ruth Rogos (Ralph's sister) in Vienna, Ohio where he owned a bar and had a trucking business too. Ralph and his wife Jeannette were living in New Bethlehem, PA where he was running a coal stripping shovel for $1.00/ hour nights - 7 days a week. This was when they got to know Sam Monie, Bill and Louie Compton, Clair Kelly, and their respective families. These men and their families (including Ralph and Al), continued see each other socially, often at Sam Monie's lake property in New Bethlehem, PA. Ralph and Al often talked about how much fun the family had swimming and water skiing at the Monie's lake and thought that someday there might be an opportunity to build a 'pond' like that. This is where the whole idea originated for a lake retreat for the families to use.

In 1946, the partnership of Smith and Rogos Coal Co. was formed, and they started work at the Fida Farm, off of Westville Road in Brockway. Ralph and Al bought a used shovel and cleaned coal by hand until they could afford a small machine to do so. The Fida Farm operation lasted for 2 years where the two partners worked day and night with one sleeping in the truck while the other ran the machinery.

In 1948, Smith and Rogos Coal Co. moved their mining operations to the Shawmut area in Elk County where they leased coal from the New Shawmut Mining Company and the owner, AJ Palumbo.

During 1950, Ralph and Al built the two houses in Lanes Mills where they lived for many years along with Uncle Don and Ida June who lived right up the road. Also during 1950, Bill Rogos (Ralph and Don's brother from Ohio) started working for Smith & Rogos Coal again. Smith and Rogos bought 105 acres from Denny O'Neill on Shawmut Road, which eventually became the Lake Property, once the coal had been mined out. Don also started working for S&R Coal at the time, but moved back to Ohio for the winter, and then back to Brockway and S&R later.

In 1952, the O'Neil property in Shawmut, now owned by S&R Coal, was nothing more than a ravine with a good spring fed stream before “The Lake” was dug in 1952. Ralph and Al used a Caterpillar D7 and a International D24 to do the work. A small cabin was built lakeside by Ralph, Al, Bill Rogos, Franz Rogos (another of the Rogos brothers) and a friend, John Banko. Franz referred to the cabin as “the Palace” as they even had to sand the window sills and pay very close attention to the building details. Bill was a carpenter by trade, and he and John Banko used a lot of nails in the building process-- as evidenced during the recent renovation-- a very well built original structure. The cabin was essentially first built as two bedrooms and a space for a small stove and sink. There were no bathroom facilities, and a two-holer privy served the needs of hunters and other adventuresome lake goers. Initially, this cabin just sat on a crawl space, then later, a basement was built with a bathroom and the cabin was towed over it with a dozer.

The Lake was enlarged a few years later in the late 1950s when they used the Smith & Rogos Coal Co. dragline to lengthen it. Adjoining property was bought from Bill Hyde and Harry Brown (“Old Man Brown” as he was called, continued to live in the ramshackle house at the top of the hill for years until he died-- in fact, Ralph discovered Harry's body when he stopped by after not seeing Harry for a few days and reported his death to authorities and the house was eventually burned down by the Horton Twp. Fire department as fire-fighting practice after Harry's death). Later, the Himes property was purchased (45 acres) along with the Davis property (53 acres). The Morelli property across Shawmut Road (100 acres) was purchased in the 1970s for $70,000 for the coal on it. Eventually, the Lake property came to include 450 acres altogether with approximately 225 acres being on the current Lake side of Shawmut Road.

The Rogos and Smith families (Ralph's, Al's and Don's) used the lake extensively during the summers. On most good sunny days in the summer, Jeannette, Ruth and Ida June (Daisy) would get their housework, errands, etc., done by noon; pack a picnic dinner, and haul it and the kids to the Lake where we would all swim, pick berries, explore the woods, and fish together. Ralph, Al and Don would all come over to the Lake after work and we'd have dinner together. It was a great way for our Rogos families to grow up together, and we all created many, many, good memories. At dark after a full day of swimming, fishing, etc., we'd all pile into the cars, head home, and do it again the next day as long as there was a hint of sunshine. During the winter months, the Lake was a hunting camp used by Ralph and many relatives and friends. Several of us learned all about guns, safety, hunting, sportsmanship, outlaws, trespassers and deer processing under Ralph's guidance.

During the 1970s, a two bedroom + bathroom was added, the construction being done by Carl Gambarino of Brockport. The picnic shelter was built and closed in, a furnace being installed in the rafters. A dock was built by Ralph and Al in the early years that included a high diving board salvaged from the Brockway pool, and for years served skiers, swimmers, and children fishing for the first time with their fathers. The dock's metal stanchions eventually rusted away and it was replaced by Kyle, Casey, and Uncle Don with a substantial, stable and improved dock, which we all use today.

An expansion of the 'cabin' got underway in Feb 2008, as this generation's improvements. The size of the 'cabin' essentially doubled as a new second floor was added to increase the size of the 'lodge' from its current two bedrooms to five. A full bathroom was added to the second floor increasing the baths to three. The outside was built with stone and Hardiplank and has a rustic look with a large front porch. It has worked out great, and has created many more Rogos Family memories.

Another major improvement occurred in 2005 as we started to repair the old picnic shelter. The plan had been to keep the fireplace and roof, and remodel the sides of that old building dating from 1955. However, when the demo started it became clear that the old structure was just not in good enough condition to salvage. So, a family committee project started to redesign the 'shelter' and that effort was quite successful. The new 'shelter' (we tried to have a contest to re-name it, but nothing suggested really seemed to be acceptable) was made several feet wider and a foot or so longer. It has turned out to be in effect, a beautiful outdoor living room with stone fireplace, a huge deck out over the water, and a soaring ceiling where various hunting trophies are displayed. The knotty pine used on the inside for the most part came from Tim's farm, and the Belgium Block hearth stones came from Matt's driveway in Pittsburgh. Luckily, Tim insisted on putting in a small heat pump so it is cool in the summer and toasty warm in the winter. A very successful family project!!!

Over the years we've added some fun equipment to the Rogos Lake and Lodge inventory. A paddle boat, 4x4's, two side-by-sides (Big Red and Jumbo Red), and most recently two kayaks. Lots of fun things to do besides hiking, fishing, swimming, and bonfires, etc.

Our annual 4th of July family reunion has continued on with an ever expanding group as several families have continued to grow with the addition of their children. It is an event at the Lake we all look forward to each year. Another event that is now in its sixth year is Papa's Week at the Lake. Ron and his 4 grandchildren spend a week together in August and swim, fish, ride, go on mystery trips, and usually produce a book or a movie.

The year 2017 ushered in an organizational change based on planning for the future. Tim had suggested that we should look at a way to insure the long-term viability of the Lake property for the future generations. After some research, the then-current 4 owners decided to deed the property to an LLC whose membership would be expanded within the family. An operating agreement was drafted, and on July 4, 2017, the owners and future members met to finalize the plans. By the end of 2017, the new LLC had been formed, the property transferred, and the members of the organization expanded to number six (Ron, Tim, Matt, Amanda, Kyle and Casey). This paves the way for the future of the Rogos Lake & Lodge and many great memories to come...