WEST ROXBURY, Mass. - Oil-fueled heating system service work has come a long way. Some businesses, like Hughes Oil, struggled through economic hardships and wars before becoming the home comfort businesses of today. William G. Hughes started his business in 1934, selling kerosene, ice, and coal to homes in Boston's Jamaica Plain area.
According to the company, it has been managed by the Hughes and Horan families "for more than 65 years and three generations." Its current president, Dick Horan, has taken the company into the realm of Internet-based oil purchasing to help generate new customers, by signing up as a dealer with OrderOil.com. The company brokers oil heating system service and installation services online, in addition to fuel oil sales.