Once upon a time coal and presto logs were sold automatically by companies like Pacific Mutual Fuels which operated vending machines in several Tacoma locations. As seen in this Jan. 26, 1952 photo, customers could buy 50-pound bags of Egg-Nut coal for 65¢ or seven Presto-logs for 60¢. Even better, the vending machines offered convenient 24-hour service. In addition to coal and Presto-logs, Pacific Mutual sold other fuels such burner oils, stoker coal, range coal, furnace coal, wood planer ends, plus unsteamed core blocks, and log ends.
According to the 1950 Census report, 68% of U.S. families heated their homes with either coal (35%), fuel oil (23%), or wood (10%). Natural gas supplied another 27% while electricity surprisingly heated less than 1% of homes in the United States. By the year 2000, the combined percentage of homes heated by coal, fuel oil, and wood had dropped to 11%, with natural gas, propane, and electricity accounting for 88%. Today, about 48% of American homes use natural gas, 40% electricity, 5% fuel oil, 5% propane, and 2% other including coal and wood.
Pacific Mutual Fuels was owned by B.R. “Boots” Christiansen and Frank Schnider with their head office located at 401 East 11th Street in Tacoma. The company gained distinction by sponsoring women’s baseball teams, both fast pitch and soft ball. Nicknamed the Fuelerrettes, the Pacific Mutual teams captured several league and state titles during the late 1940s and early 1950s. This photo number A64300-1 comes courtesy of the Northwest Room of the Tacoma Public Library and appeared in the Feb. 10, 1952 issue of the Tacoma News Tribune, from which additional information was drawn.
