When people think of family-owned businesses, usually they think of a son or daughter joining the family business, but that wasn't the case with the Clarks.
After Larry Clark, a Loyalsock Township resident, began his own roofing and sheet metal company, his father, Bob Clark soon signed on. Now Bob is 81 and still roofing everyday.
"He (my Dad) kids me a lot about working for me," Larry said laughing. "But the pains that I have when I get out of the bed in the morning, I can't even imagine what it is like when you're 81."
Both father and son, learned the roofing business when they worked for another roofing company in the area, JJ Welteroth Roofing and Sheet Metal.
Larry said that his father taught him a lot about roofing and describes him as "independent." Now Bob does a lot of odd jobs for Larry.
"He can outwork me," Larry said, laughing. "You'd have to see it to believe it."
Larry said that working on a roof is much different than working on the ground. "Safety is the most important thing," Larry said. "Every step needs to be calculated. It's not like working on the ground."
Larry stopped working in roofing in 1984 and went to work for a heating, ventilating and air conditioning company shortly after.
After working there for almost 10 years, he and a business partner, Mike Lupold broke away and formed their own company, C & L Roofing and Sheet Metal.
Larry said that while working for the HVAC company, he realized there was a real need for roofing companies in the area.
Larry said that Lupold brought commercial roofing knowledge and that he brought residential roofing knowledge to the business.
But in 2002, Larry bought out his partner when they decided they wanted different things for the business. "Mike wanted to slow down and I wanted to grow the business," Larry said.
Recently, another family member, Heath Moore, Larry's nephew, joined the business. He went to school and majored in heavy machinery. He was working in Virginia and then in New Jersey before decided he wanted to move back to the area and took a job with his uncle.
And because the business only has two full-time employees, Larry and Moore, business is steady and the group is booked all the way until June.
In the spring and summer, Larry said he hires some additional employees to get work done during peak times.
The company does slate, metal, tile and even some rubber roofing for residential homes and for churches.
