Tired of work at the family dairy in Gansevoort yet discontent with mill work in Fort Edward, Frank Shaw decided to invest his $2,500 savings in a backhoe, and started digging holes in the back yard for practice. His farm machinery expertise stood him in good stead and shortly he was hiring himself out to dig holes and, with the purchase of a dump truck, to haul dirt. In 1980 Frank invested in his own pump trucks and Morning Star Excavating and Septic was born.

Morning Star specializes in septic system installation and repair. Services offered include power snaking, high pressure jetting, pumping, line installations, and leach field installations. The company also supplies and delivers top soil, sand, and compost from their own facility in Gansevoort.

During the winter when the ground is frozen and the snow flies, Morning Star uses their trucks to keep your commercial driveways and parking lots cleared.