A profession that is slowly dying out is that of the fuel delivery person. As new technologies compete for replacing fossil fuels, it might be worth remembering that in the cold Canadian winters, the person delivering fuel to homes for heat was hailed as a hero. Even before oil and gas, coal was often the most popular way of heating ones home in the winter months. As coal was phased out most homes were retrofitted with oil burners and had huge storage tanks on their properties that would need to be refilled at least 3 times during the season. As a child, it was always a thrill to see the “oil man” pull up to your house and unwind the huge snake of a hose and drag it across the property to where the oil tank was located. Burton Phillips was our local oil delivery person in Schreiber for decades and was a welcome sight to every homeowner. He quite literally brought warmth to everyone of his customers.

Linda Williamson sat down with Burton to talk about his life in Schreiber and the role he played in keeping residents safe from the harsh temperatures of a Northern Ontario winter. He had many careers over his lifetime and is well known for his carpentry skills, but his job with Esso fuel delivery to homes meant he was always on the road. Quite often he would provide assistance to broken down motorists and he recalled a few of his experiences. To many he’s the knight in shining armour that was always at the right place at the right time. At nearly 90 years of age he has seen many changes in not only Schreiber, but the world in general. He began his career over 70 years ago, delivering coal to homes. Coal was the fuel of the day for not only heating homes but keeping trains running as well. Primitive by todays standards, it was surpassed by liquid fossil fuels such as diesel oil and gasoline. Today the energy sector is once again evolving and many homes have upgraded to cleaner fuels such as natural gas which can be delivered to homes via installed delivery line’s, but in some more rural areas even that fuel needs to still be transported and delivered by truck.

As a senior, Mister Phillips has not only seen many changes to the energy industry, but he also understands the need for a continued evolution of technologies that heat our homes. The fuel oil industry is under heavy fire and is facing a tough battle, perhaps a bit too late. Customers who switched to gas and even propane are not forced into having to upgrade their fuel tanks whenever new legislation is passed. Most gas customers with outdoor tanks have them installed and replaced by the gas companies when necessary and often at no cost, the logic being, if you don’t have the container, you can’t buy the product.  With future developments in the pipeline, that may be changing very soon. Natural gas delivery to homes via installed lines is a huge priority in several small towns along the north shore and is sure to fuel the next evolution in home heating. Unlike some older people who get frustrated by change, Burton believes that change is necessary and makes our lives just that much easier. An eternal optimist, he still continues to bring warmth to the people he meets.