About Us

Clair Jr. circa 1943

 

Leadership

Ryan M. Bushong

The owner of Bushong Drilling, Ryan has a passion to educate the public of the importance of groundwater and to alter the general perception of well water from negative to positive.  His introduction to water well drilling came at a young age when he watched and then helped his grandfather, Clair Bushong, Jr., drill water wells and blastholes in and around Union County.  Ryan became involved in the industry full time in 2000 when he was employed by the water well experts at the former Sprowls Drilling Company in Sunbury.  He then obtained employment as a geotechnical driller with BBC&M Engineering in Dublin.  Resource International, Inc. in Columbus later hired him as their Drilling Operations Manager.  In early 2015, he restarted the family water well drilling business.  In all, he possesses over 17 years of industry experience, holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, is certified by the National Ground Water Association, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Ohio Water Well Association as the District 1 Trustee.

Ryan M. Bushong

History

Family Tradition

Clair Bushong, Sr. began drilling water wells with a cable tool rig near West Mansfield, Ohio in 1920.  His eldest sons, Ernie and Ed, started helping him in the late 1930s.  When the two of them went to serve during World War II, sons Burt and Clair, Jr. started working in the family business.  Ernie and Ed returned from over seas and then worked with their brothers and father.  Eventually, younger brothers Dick and Bob joined in on the tradition of Bushong drillers.  In the late 1940s, they were involved in oil and gas drilling in southeastern Ohio.  Throughout the 1940s, 50s, 60s, 70s, and into the 1980s, the Bushongs drilled a large portion of the water wells in the region for resident homeowners, building contractors, industries, farms, orchards, golf courses, etc.  They also drilled a great number of blast holes for the stone quarries in the region.  The seven Bushongs were even featured in a May 1960 article in The Driller, a nationally circulated magazine.  Ernie's son Steve and Clair Jr.'s son Rick were involved in the family tradition for a short time.  Ernie's late son Mike was a driller for most of his life.  Clair, Jr. continued to drill on into his 70s, subcontracted work in his 80s, and advised and assisted Ryan in his 90s.  That same passion, integrity, and tradition of excellence lives on today at Bushong Drilling.

Clair Bushong, Sr. circa 1940s