History of Mr. Rooter^® Plumbing of Oakland/Berkeley:

Joe Jevons learned the plumbing trade in England around the turn of the century. He moved to the Bay Area in 1906 because of the plumbing opportunities due to the San Francisco earthquake. He started Jevons Plumbing in Berkeley approximately 1924. After World War ll and serving in the US Army his son Joe Jevons, Jr. came to work for him, served a plumbing apprenticeship in Plumbers Union Local 444 and later took over Jevons Plumbing sometime in the 1950’s. Concurrently Joe Jr.’s high school friend David Ferguson (Jack) got out of the US Army and served a plumbing apprenticeship with Scott Co. in Oakland. After Jack completed his apprenticeship he came to work for his friend Joe Jr. at Jevons Plumbing in Berkeley (coincidentally Jacks father was a union plumber in Local 444 and for a time just after the “Big Depression” he worked a bit at Jevons Plumbing for Joe Sr.). In the late 1960’s Joe Jevons Jr. sold Jevons Plumbing to Jack Ferguson and Joe went to work as an estimator for C. Norman Peterson in Berkeley. In 1973 Jacks nephew, Steve Ferguson, came to work for Jevons Plumbing for a summer job. Steve had served 4 years in the US Navy, got back from Viet-Nam and just graduated from Chabot College and was going to go to California State College, Hayward in the fall. At the end of the summer it was clear that Steve and Jack saw a good opportunity for Steve to go through a plumbing apprenticeship and then in about 13 years when Jack planned to retire he would sell Jevons Plumbing to Steve. Steve shelved his plan to go to Cal State and stayed at Jevons Plumbing. Steve completed a Plumbing Apprenticeship with Plumbers Union Local 444 and ultimately bought Jevons Plumbing when Jack Ferguson retired in 1984.

Steve and Sandy owned and operated Jevons Plumbing until 1998 when they bought the Mr. Rooter Plumbing Franchise. After their initial training in Waco, Texas (National headquarters for Mr. Rooter Plumbing and The Dwyer Group^® that owns Mr. Rooter Plumbing) Jevons Plumbing became Mr. Rooter Plumbing in May of 1998. Buying Mr. Rooter Plumbing brought the best of both worlds together for the Fergusons and their customers; they maintained the ability to keep the benefits of a family owned business together with the strength and support of a national company.