Oak Anniversary: DuBrook Inc. Celebrating 80 Years in Business in 2026 — Part I

CLARION, Pa. (EYT) – DuBrook Inc., a concrete construction supply company headquartered in Clarion, is celebrating 80 years in business this year. To celebrate, the EYT Media Group is looking back at the company’s history in a three-part article series.

The story begins a mere year before the Roaring ’20s, with the concrete business being introduced in Clarion in 1919 under the leadership of entrepreneur Charles M. Lawrence.

Though the business Mr. Lawrence founded was eventually sold in 1984, it is now co-led by a family member in Braun Gourley. Gourley’s great-grandfather was, in fact, the late Charles M. Lawrence. As this series goes forward, readers will understand why the late Charles M. Lawrence and his ancestors became even more important to DuBrook’s history.

The Ogorchock Era

Speaking about DuBrook, the man responsible for starting the company now known as DuBrook Inc., is the late John (Jack) Ogorchock. A World War II United States veteran, he returned to Brookville in 1945 and got to work forming his own business around a year later. He started the company known as J.H. Ogorchock Trucking in 1946 with a lone dump truck he used to haul coal, lumber, and other raw materials throughout the region. Interestingly, in 1942, as a student at St. Francis College (now University) in Loretto, Pennsylvania, he left school and entered the United States Navy. From 1942 to 1945, he served the country and was one of the few selected for aviation cadet training, flying F6-F Hellcats. After this incredible service, he also returned to college. In 1949, he completed a business degree from Duquesne University, and this business acumen would take him and his businesses far over the years.

After graduating from Duquesne, Ogorchock expanded the trucking business into Brookville Building Supply and ready-mix concrete. Starting with a small concrete plant and now having three trucks, the operation took shape. With the post–World War II housing boom sweeping the United States, it was also a great time to enter the home-building business, which Ogorchock wisely did. The Government Issue (GI) Bills were used heavily in the 1940s by this golden generation of brave soldiers, and many like Ogorchock took advantage of them in various ways to fund their education, earn loans for their businesses, and even build homes. Not only did this generation likely save the world from being conquered by authoritarian dictatorships, but they also helped to industrialize the United States for a new generation coming out of the Great Depression and two World Wars.

Becoming “DuBrook”

For Ogorchock, he continued to grow his business not just in Jefferson County, but out of it. In 1952, he continued the company’s growth with an expansion into DuBois and Clearfield County, which included a new concrete plant, four trucks, and a building supply store on Hoover Avenue. The company also took on the name DuBrook for the first time that year. As an homage to DuBois and Brookville, the names were combined to make DuBrook. Business was excellent for the next six years, so good that it was time to expand into Butler County. Recognizing the opportunity in the Butler area south of their current territory, DuBrook established a new plant on North Main Street. The company later gained a business called John Tack & Sons on Bantam Avenue, which is the location where the Butler plant remains operational to this day for the company. However, Mr. Ogorchock was far from finished with business in Brookville and DuBois.

A Growing Empire

In 1962, Ogorchock established a company called Green Dot Inc., a commercial real estate development company that brought several businesses to DuBois. From there, the empire he built as a savvy businessman also grew to include businesses out of state in Virginia and Texas in a variety of industries, with the businesses he built employing several thousand people over many years, and over 500 people when he passed in March 2012 at 87 years young. However, for DuBrook, much of their growth also occurred in DuBois, much like that of Ogorchock’s in business overall. In 1970, DuBrook expanded by acquiring Kolhepp’s ready-mix operation and relocating the DuBois plant to Parkway Drive, where it remains today, strengthening its regional presence overall.

It was also in the 1970s when Ogorchock and his sons, who had now gotten into business themselves, were inspired to expand out of state. After attending a conference in Texas, they saw an opportunity and took advantage of it. With Houston, Texas, booming during this time, operations began in Spring, Texas, eventually expanding to three locations and a fleet of 56 trucks for DuBrook here. However, during this time, a big move was also made to depart from his original location in his native Brookville, as this sole location was sold to Paul Glenn. Despite this change, it certainly did not mean the end for DuBrook. In fact, it was still very much the beginning.

This concludes Part One of a three-part series from EYT’s Nate Steis on the history of DuBrook Inc. as they celebrate 80 years in business in 2026. Stay tuned for the next article, which will be released soon.

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