The year was 1970 when Larry Sturm graduated from Penn Joint High School with no idea or direction for his life. His high school years were not productive and were complicated by his father’s lengthy struggle with lung cancer. Just before graduation, his father died leaving his mother with four kids and no substantial income. It was his mother’s hard work ethic & struggle that Larry credits for teaching him what he didn’t learn in schoolbooks.
While classmates were moving on, Larry didn’t have many options since finances made college out of the question. A high school friend asked him to “just ride along” while he took an entrance exam for admission to a trade school. With nothing to do after they arrived, the school somehow convinced Larry to take the exam along with his friend. And talk about a twi
st of fate. The friend was not admitted but Larry was accepted. As if the puzzle needed one more piece to fit together more perfectly, the school specialized in assisting orphaned & disadvantaged kids. The wheels of motion were now set in place & Larry was off to attend Thaddeus Stevens Trade School in Lancaster PA. Larry only learned later in life from a federal job recruiter that Thaddeus was the premier school in the nation where the federal government turns to when looking for highly skilled tradesmen. It was two years of intense study before Larry realized he found his calling. At graduation he was named ‘Most Outstanding Plumber’ (...add 40 years experience to that!)
Larry went on to take a plumbing position for an oceanside firm in New Jersey. The surfing proved far more exciting than what his home back in Claridge offered. But while other plumbers punched the time clock & went off to the donut shop, Larry went straight to the jobsite and worked far into the evening. “I asked for a 25 cent raise & my boss said no…it was the best answer I could of received.” That reply caused Larry to pack his bags & head back home to Penn Township. Again mom came to his rescue, telling her friends in the kitchen at Jeannette Hospital about his new venture & Sturm Plumbing was up & running. He laughs & recalls packing his two seater Triumph with tools purchased from the money he saved from his childhood paper route.
Jump ahead to 1983 when Larry and his new wife Cheryl decided to open retail store in a back alley of town. “We filled our shelves with the standard plumbing stock.” Larry said. He remembered how his wife watched the store while he did the service work. Sturm would return at the end of the day & his wife would tell him that they didn’t sell a thing. She would say, “Everyone comes in asking for these things we don’t have. What are these?” she asked holding up a faucet stem. Larry explained but added that there were far too many varieties out there to stock. A light bulb went off &
they made the bold move to specialize in hard-to-find plumbing parts. They packed up the kids and drove to Washington DC and filed for a national trademark on the name “The Faucet Doctor”. That move is what first put this small town plumber on the radar map. Later, his expertise in solving difficult plumbing problems drew even bigger attention.While all the plumbers around knew about The Faucet Doctor, their success became apparent when homeowners would travel 3-4 hours to find them. When we started to answer the phone & give directions to tiny Harrison Ci
ty from Virginia and New York we knew we were on to something.” “Back then we kept a visitor’s book at our counter for people to sign.” “We had people sign in from as far away as Georgia & Colorado for parts”. They would visit relatives here & tell them they had to tear apart walls because no one had the parts they needed. They knew right where to bring them!”
That was the situation an editor for Home & Garden Magazine faced when she called. “Her plumber told her it was no longer made, she had to rip out an entire bathroom”. Being very appreciative that Larry was honest enough to save her thousands of dollars she directed subscribers to his website in the next magazine issue.
About a year later The New York Times was on the phone asking to speak with Larry. They were doing a story & wanted his professional advice. Even the popular Bob Vila Show heard word of this small town plumber. Their writers called in December & spoke with Larry for a story they were doing for their website. The interest hasn’t stopped. Fine Homebuilding magazine just wrote him a few months back to thank him for his input. His expertise in saving time on jobs (and customer's money) won him first prize for Plumbing & Mechanical magazine section for Tool Tips.
Larry looks back at the twists & turns his life took as “the Lord having a plan & purpose for my life”. As the small tidbit of fame & success puts a smile on this small town plumbers face, Larry is looking ahead towards his next big move with retirement approaching in the next 10 years. “I have no doubt at all the Lord wanted me to be a plumber & I love plumbing. There are so many serious needs for plumbers to address. We used to do a lot of missionary work years ago with orphanages in Mexico, so I am looking forward to the time when I can take that passion for my work & use it again in poverty stricken areas like Appalachia or natural disaster areas – that’s what I’d rather be remembered for. That's true success. ”