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History
Mention Alyre Cormier
around Gardner, Massachusetts and invariably the family business known as
People's Ice and Coal Company comes to mind. Alyre and his brother Alfred
bought the small business in 1924 from Charlie Hilchey, an ice-cutting and
retail ice business that was the start of their ventures. Ice-cutting? To
this generation unfamiliar with the term, it represented a laborious
midwinter project in the northern climes where ice freezes on ponds and
lakes to a sufficient thickness to be cut and harvested. |
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All of this was before refrigeration was
induced electrically, of course, before the 1940's, a half-century ago.
Crews of men with saws, pikes and other gear would cut the ice and store it
in a nearby "ice-house", cover it with hay and sawdust, sell and deliver to
houses through the next summer and fall, begin the process over again the
next winter. And you think you've got it tough! |
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Moving furniture, selling wood, coal and trucking were added quickly to the
business enterprise run by Alyre and Alfred until 1965. For a five-year
period in the 1950's, they leased the Bolduce Ice Company in Fitchburg,
Massachusetts and made artifical ice for the entire area. Alyre's sons,
Leo and Normand, acquired the business in 1965, the name changed to People's
Fuel along the way. When it came time for them to retire, the business was
sold to John Cormier, son of Normand; Nancy Begin, Leo's daughter; and Bobby
LeBlanc, Leo's son-in-law. |
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John Cormier, a very shy and introverted type, had meanwhile started a
retail oil business in the Greenfield, Massachusetts area known as Country
Oil, and this was brought under the People's ownership for a time. Ice, oil,
coal, blacktopping - all are important parts of the Alyre Cormier legacy at
People's Fuel. In July 1999, Bobby Leblanc and Nancy Begin became the
sole owners of People's Fuel, Inc. In 2001, People's Fuel is still a family
business committed to providing the very best in service to you and your
family. In 2002, People's Fuel decided to focus the blacktop end of the
business to sealing only, ending a long history of paving many roads,
streets, and driveways. People's Fuel has added a focus on more heating
equipment including radiant heat. People's Fuel has established itself
as a leader in the installation of air conditioning for homes and
businesses. With the untimely death of Bobby Leblanc in 2004, the business
is now run by Nancy Begin and the dedicated staff of People's Fuel. In 2024, People's Fuel will be 100 years old. |
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