In The Beginning
Our Roots
Rusk Heating and Cooling can trace its roots back to the mid 19th century. The company was founded as The Montgomery Coal Company in 1865. It supplied most of Northern Kentucky with coal and fuel oil for its business and home furnaces, prospering up until World War II.
Around 1946, Fred Dietz, Jr., Thomas Rankin “Doc” Rusk and Leonard “Bo” Badenberg started Montgomery Coals’ heating division. In 1949, they added residential and commercial air conditioning units.
A New Name
Doc Rusk and his partners grew the business to over 20,000 customers. Eventually, Montgomery Coal sold its coal and oil business in 1973 and changed its name to Doc Rusk Heating and Air Conditioning. Doc Rusk Heating and Air Conditioning moved to their current location in Covington along the Ohio River and just under the Brent Spence Bridge (I-75/I-71) in 1968. The easy access to the interstate means they are just minutes away from any location in the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area.
The success of Doc Rusk Heating and Air Conditioning didn’t go unnoticed. Larger companies soon came calling, wanting to buy them. In 1999, Roto-Rooter, in the midst of a countrywide expansion into the home heating and air conditioning business, made the family an offer they couldn’t refuse.
5th Generation
But nationally-minded Roto-Rooter found it’s not easy managing a locally driven heating and air conditioning business. So in February 2002, Steve Morrison, fifth generation owner, bought back Rusk Heating and Air Conditioning and still runs it today.