The History of Whiting Energy Fuels

We have been serving the local area for over 130 years. Five generations of the Whiting family have been serving Hampshire, Hampden, and Berkshire counties, and we still maintain a family business.

One hundred and thirty years have passed since founder William B. Whiting leased land from the New Haven Railroad, constructed a building and opened his coal and wood heating business at 458 Dwight St., Holyoke. Today, his great-grandson, president and treasurer, Richard C. Whiting sits behind the desk and directs the family business that has grown and prospered since 1870. Whiting Oil Corporation has two main offices now, one at 111 Lyman St., in Holyoke and another at 300-A King St., in Northampton.

Whiting Oil has a long and interesting history of serving the residents of Holyoke and the surrounding communities. Founder William B. Whiting began his business during the first presidential term of Ulysses S. Grant. In those days coal and wood were delivered to customers by horse-drawn wagons. The 30 horses and wagons were housed in a big horse barn at the corners of Elm and Hampden Street.

William passed away in 1911, leaving his son Edward, one of William's 11 children, a thriving operation. Despite the problems of getting heating materials during the 1st World War, Edward, assisted with the era of new inventions and the ever-growing population, continued the tradition of service. During his tenure, trucks were introduced as a means of distribution and the horses began to be phased out. In 1923, a record of 30,000 tons of coal was distributed annually. The horse barn was torn down by the early '20s and a garage was constructed which stands today. Around 1920, William's grandson, Philip C. Whiting, or "Pete" entered the coal business following in the steps of his father and grandfather. He attended Cornell prior to his beginning work in the business and was famous in the area for his basketball playing. His father, Edward, passed away shortly after his son joined the company.

In 1935, oil fuel was added to Whiting's heating materials as more and more people converted from coal or wood. Whiting also began servicing oil heaters and by 1948 had added heating and air conditioning unit sales and service to the operation, retaining oil sales as the major portion of their business.

Philip Whiting died in March of 1962, leaving the company in the hands of his son Richard who was born and raised in Holyoke. Upon graduating from Williams College, Richard became a Naval officer, spending WW II with a P.T. squadron in the Pacific.

Whiting Oil abandoned the coal business completely by 1965 to channel their energies toward a more extensive oil distribution. Presently, the firm maintains a storage capacity of just over 1 million gallons of oil. The fifth generation to enter the family business is Richard C. Whiting Jr., or "Rick" who joined the company in the summer of 1976. A Holyoke native, Rick graduated from Holyoke High School as well as Holyoke Community College. Rick is also a graduate of Occidental College in Los Angeles, California.

In the late '70s, solar heating seemed a good alternative to rising fuel costs. Over the years, however, solar power lost it's cost effectiveness. Liquid petroleum gas (propane) is now often the fuel of choice for heating as well as cooking and drying. Rick, now vice president, believes that propane will become even more popular in the future. Present distribution is over 1 million gallons. Three new Whiting Energy Fuel Trucks service this segment. Propane is pumped directly from truck to tank these days, eliminating much of the bull work of switching 100 pound tanks. The propane is pumped through meters to determine the exact delivery amount.

Many fuel companies are family businesses, but few keep the enterprise going through so many generations. The key to Whiting Oil's growth has been through personalized service to homeowners. with the number of homes on the rise, Whiting Oil has continually adapted to the growing demand for other energy sources and underlying their growing success is a commitment to the highest level of service. "We're out there 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. That's more than most doctor are on call," says Richard Whiting. The company's 17 radio equipped service vans are driven by state licensed technicians and we have 5 Propane delivery and 11 Oil delivery vehicles. They are typically graduates of the New England Fuel Institute's Oil Burner School in Watertown, Massachusetts. Their expertise keeps Whiting Oil up-to-date for conversions and repairs to newer types of furnaces.

Computers in the Northampton office keep an automatic running schedule for refueling customers based on a "degree-day" program. The colder the weather, the sooner refueling is scheduled. Daily printouts assign routes for all drivers. Naturally calls for help come from customers new and old which challenge the schedule. That's the test of their service, and for five generations they've met the challenge.