Well let’s back up about 75 years but still in Powassan. My great grandparents owned a farm in Lindquist Line in Powassan where a Quonset hut still stands today, I don’t know who owns it now but I do know it is no longer in the family. When people ask if we’re related this is where we start from to find out- with Solomon and Claire St. Jean then go down to my grandparents who owned a trucking company and then my parents and finally me.

I wasn’t born a boy (and I’m still not one) but there’s not much they can do that I can’t. Well, I can’t pee standing up but I’m ok with that. Growing up I did everything a boy did and everything a girl did. I started hunting at 9 months old and haven’t stopped. I worked at hunting and fishing lodges growing and loved it the whole time. The best would be when the hunters would ask me a question then ask one of the other men working there the same question and get exactly the same answer I just gave them or not know the answer at all. One of my jobs was butchering bears- they’d ask how long it would take. “1 hour if I do it-2 if you help” and that’s what it took, I got good at it really fast. Now I have no idea how many large animals I have butchered but I’m sure it’s over 100.

Culinary college was followed with a University Business degree then came the houses with the final one being the auction house. Three babies came in between all of that. Yes I’ve had help along the way but everything I have I’ve earned myself. What started at age 14 with “Mom and dad I need to borrow the final $500 to buy the brand new skidoo I want”. Always paying them back, each time it became a significantly higher amount, especially when buying the building for Oley’s -and mom and dad-someday soon I will finish paying you back!

Oley’s Auctions (which later expanded to encompass Oley’s Operations and Oley’s Armoury) really happened by accident. Buying too much at auctions meant that my yard, house and some rental properties were full of stuff for sale and I needed more room. So I priced out building a garage and after almost having a heart attack when hearing the price I knew that it needed to have a more significant source of income if it was coming with that high of a price tag. At the same time someone in passing asked if I could bring auctions to Powassan and that sparked something in my mind. So property hunting began and eventually 788 Main Street became Oley’s (for those who continually ask no Oley can’t come to the phone, Oley is my maiden name I gave up when I got married since I wasn’t a boy and this is my way of carrying it on into the future).

Oley’s Auctions opened in May of 2014 and I have said from day one that it would be a modern auction house and change with what people wanted. And change it has. Oley’s Operations began later that summer with the addition of a backhoe and Oley’s Armoury that fall with the firearms being added into the mix. Every single aspect of the business has expanded far beyond my expectations. Oley’s auctions is going to reach 700 consignors by the end of 2018. Oley’s Operations has added a new truck each year to try to keep up with the demand for insured plowing and sanding services in the area. Oley’s Armoury doubles about every 6 months with the addition of more firearms, the ultrasonic tank and more accessory products available for sale.

I am very thankful for all that I have, but nothing has come easy. The 12-22 hour work days 7 days a week are not always fun but that’s why I have all that I do. I may not have been a boy but now I have two of my own and a girl just like me (really just like me-look out in the future everyone). I am able to show them the hard work it takes to achieve whatever you want whether that may be properties, trucks and guns or whatever else they may wish and someday they may have Oley’s too.