About Earl - BigEarl.org - The Official Website of Big Earl Plumberton

👤 THE BIG EARL STORY

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Earl "Big Earl" Plumberton, 2002
"Employee of the Month, Every Month"

Born: June 15, 1944, in the back of a plumbing supply store in Dayton, Ohio. His mother, Edna Plumberton, was shopping for pipe fittings when Earl decided it was time. "He came out ready to work," his father Merle reportedly said. This is not medically accurate, but the Plumbertons have never let facts get in the way of a good story.

🎓 THE EARLY YEARS

Young Earl showed an early aptitude for plumbing. While other kids were playing with Lincoln Logs, Earl was rerouting the family's septic system. He was expelled from two elementary schools -- not for behavioral issues, but because he kept "improving" the boys' restrooms without authorization.

At age 16, Earl installed his first trough -- a 4-footer in his uncle's garage. "Something just clicked," Earl recalls. "I looked at that trough and thought, 'This is what I was put on this earth to do.' My guidance counselor disagreed, but look who's got a WEBSITE now, Mrs. Patterson."

🔧 CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

1966: Completes plumbing apprenticeship under the legendary "Pipe Dream" Pete Morrison. Pete's last words to Earl were reportedly, "You're either going to be the greatest plumber who ever lived or the worst. There is no in between with you, son."

1972: Opens "Big Earl's Plumbing" in Dayton. The "Big" is aspirational at this point -- Earl weighs 160 lbs. He will grow into the name.

1983: Installs his 500th trough. Celebrates by installing a trough in his own living room. First wife, Brenda, leaves. Earl does not see the connection.

1991: Installs troughs at three NFL stadiums in the same season. Sports Illustrated does NOT write about this, which Earl considers "the biggest oversight in journalism history."

1997: Launches TROFS.com, becoming one of the first trough dealers on the World Wide Web. Earl Jr. (age 14) designs the website. It wins "Cool Site of the Day" on a website that no longer exists.

1999: Survives Y2K. All troughs remain operational. Earl sleeps in the showroom "just in case." Nothing happens. Earl takes credit.

2001: Marries third wife, Linda. Linda accepts the living room trough. "She's the one," Earl declares.

🏆 AWARDS & ACCOLADES

Dayton Penny Saver "Best Specialty Plumbing" - 2001, 2002, 2003
Montgomery County Small Business "Honorable Mention" - 1999
Dayton Chili Cook-Off Runner Up - 1995, 1998, 2002
"Best Mustache in Plumbing" - Ohio Plumbers Association, 2000
Arby's "Customer of the Year" (unofficial) - Every year since 1994
Successfully parallel parked the F-250 on the first try - August 14, 2001

💕 PERSONAL LIFE

Earl lives in Dayton with his wife Linda, his dog Flusher (a beagle/lab mix named for obvious reasons), and approximately 14 troughs of various sizes throughout the house. Linda has "a limit," but Earl has not yet found it.

In his spare time, Earl enjoys: fishing ("the only activity that's more about standing around and waiting than plumbing"), watching the Bengals ("they disappoint me almost as much as my first two marriages"), and perfecting his chili recipe ("this is the year I beat Doug Henderson. Mark my words.").

Earl is also a proud father. Earl Jr. is studying "computers" at Dayton Community College and built this very website. Earlene is in 8th grade and is "embarrassed by everything I do, which means I'm doing it right."

BIG EARL

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