​Ed Carey & Son Contractors

In 1910, Ed Carey started his business building outhouses and returning to his customers to relocate and fill the existing hole. This eventually led to making, installing and cleaning main line sewers by hand digging from house to street and turning a cable made of hydro wire, which was flared at the end to remove tree roots and other debris. Son’s George & Clayton eventually worked alongside Ed to learn the trade. Clayt went on his own and bought his first electric sewer machine in 1954, along with a backhoe, and later brother George bought his electric machine in 1970. In 1972, at the age of 16, Clayt’s daughter Debbie became the first female sewer contractor in Ontario working alongside her father. Clayt passed away in 1998, and Debbie, Jim continued the business for their mother, Jeanne, until she retired in 2003.  John Paul Carey worked alongside his father for many years, establishing John P. Carey Sewer & Drain, eventually retiring and selling to cousin Jim Carey (Carey Excavating) in 2021. And that brings us to today, where Jim, Karen, Ron, Jason, Josh and Jen continue to provide service for Chatham-Kent.