On May 1, 30 years ago, Bucky Sparks continued a family legacy – he opened a plumbing business.
“I am a third-generation plumber,” Sparks said.
Sparks’ father owned a plumbing business in San Diego, and his grandfather was a plumber. Sparks’ two sons are plumbers too.
“At one time, every male member of my family was a plumber. Cousins, uncles, everyone,” Sparks said.
Sparks and his wife, Nancy Sparks, own Sparks Plumbing and Heating. The two don’t have big plans for their 30-year anniversary. In fact, they will likely be in New York, where Sparks, a well-known horse clinician, will teach a horse training clinic.
When he opened the store with his wife 30 years ago, the couple had three children, ages 2 and 5 years, and 2 weeks.
They first opened their store in Dolores behind their house, at the time on the corner of Sixth Street and Riverside Avenue.
The store’s, current location is 26885 Road N.
“Plumbing is a good trade,” Sparks said.
But a difficult one to learn.
It takes six years to be a journeyman plumber and seven years to be a master.
“It’s also an important trade,” Sparks said.
Over the economic downturn – Sparks calls it a depression – business has gone on.
“It’s fairly recession-proof, but we went two years without plumbing a new house,” Sparks said.
The business, over those years, made money on service calls.
“We’ve had a good run,” he said.
And the colder it gets, the busier that area plumbers are.
“One year, we started working on Christmas Eve and didn’t get a day off until mid-Febraury,” he said. “We are constantly on the move. The backbone of my business is service and repair.”
Sparks teaches three or four horse clinics a year and will teach one at the beginning of May in New York.
“I teach people how to train gaited horses,” he said. “That is my passion.”
Sparks said he enjoys working in the small community.
“Serving the small community has been rewarding in many ways,” he said. “We know everyone.”