When this photo was taken on Jan. 4, 1949, coal was still an important component of home heating systems in Washington. Natural gas didn’t arrive in the Pacific Northwest until the early 1950s when the Northwest Pipeline was built delivering a new energy source from the Rocky Mountain. Before that most homes were heated by wood, coal, fuel oil, or electric heaters.
The Griffin Fuel Company was one of the largest fuel delivery companies in Western Washington with offices in Seattle and Tacoma. The firm was founded in 1889 by Fred L. Griffin who started a transfer business with one horse, one wagon, and one man on his payroll. They mostly delivered cut timber to customers in Tacoma. Renamed Griffin Fuel and Transfer, they began supplying firewood and coal in the winter and ice in the summer back when homes lacked refrigeration. Fred died in 1931 and his son, Edwin Griffin took over management and expanded the business. Edwin developed new products, like oil-treated coal and led his firm towards an emphasis on fuel oil. By 1949, Griffin Fuel owned 100 trucks and pieces of equipment, and promised prompt and speedy delivery 24 hours per day.
This exterior view of the Griffin Fuel Co. facilities located on the 1900 block of Commerce Street in Tacoma shows a delivery truck being loaded with coal. A Barber-Greene bucket conveyor shuttled stoker coal into the dump truck outfitted with compartments for separate deliveries of small quantities. The conveyor belt on the right passenger side could be wheeled to the back of the truck for unloading. Many customers had coal-fired furnaces in basements, so the one-inch-sized stoker coal was dropped through chutes often located in the alleys.
This image appeared in a Tacoma News Tribune advertisement that ran in the Jan. 7, 1949 issue. The ad copy read, “Be Safe . . . with Aberdeen.” Aberdeen was a branded class of oil-treated Utah stoker coal which promised cleaner burning and more heat. This photo number A37482-4 was taken by Richard Studios of Tacoma
