Local Businessmen Take Over

By Bob Bumcrot

Bazzano Oil owners (left to right) Bob Peterson, Jim Peacock and Alan Boucher.

Bazzano Oil, an institution in Norfolk for seventy years, has resumed business under a new name, A. B. Bazzano Fuel, Inc. On August 15, Company President Alan Boucher, Vice President Bob Peterson and Secretary Jim Peacock purchased the property and assets of John C. Bazzano & Son, Inc., but not the corporation itself, from owner Jim Conway. The new firm was described in an August 18 mass mailing as an expansion of A & B Plumbing and Heating, owned and operated by Boucher and Peterson, into the home heating oil business. Peacock confirmed the policy stated in the mailing regarding pre-purchased oil that has not yet been delivered, involving about 128 customers with an aggregate amount outstanding of about $122,000. Customers may request that all or some of the oil be delivered by September 15, or receive a cash refund. The company has already obtained oil from various wholesale distributors and begun working with these customers. Attempts to reach Conway were unsuccessful. It is widely reported that he plans to return to Pittsburgh and pursue graduate study in psychology.  In addition to the shop and storage tanks on Route 44, the headquarters at 3 Blackberry St. and several trucks, a new 2800-gallon tank truck has been purchased. Colby Boucher and Lane Ransom, currently with A & B, will continue with the new company. Other employment needs were still under consideration in late August.  As a result of past delivery failures, worry about the oil market and assorted rumors, some of the approximately 650 Bazzano customers have already switched to other dealers for the coming season. “I can certainly understand that,” said Peacock. “We hope to get them back. Customer service is the key to our future success.” Calls to headquarters at 542-5694, the same number as before, will be answered around the clock, either in person or with a message explaining how to proceed. John C. Bazzano & Son, Inc. was founded in 1937 by John C. “Johnny” Bazzano, Sr., selling coal and ice. He added trash collection in 1939 and soon thereafter began delivering fuel oil. As oil continued to displace coal, Johnny expanded into heating and plumbing service. He sold the ice business to his brother-in-law in the late 1940’s. In 1955, after working part time for his father and serving four years in the navy, John C. Bazzano, Jr., also called Johnny, became a partner. Johnny Sr. continued working to age 86, and his wife Angeline served as treasurer until 1988. Johnny Jr. then became the owner. Johnny Jr. and his wife, known to all as Pinky, had five daughters and one son, all of them still Norfolk residents. In the early 1980’s two sons-in-law, Peterson, married to Elizabeth, and Conway, then married to Buzz , joined the firm. These two bought the company in 1994. In 1999 Peterson sold his share to Conway. This continued until the current sale to Peterson, Boucher, who used to work for Bazzano, and Peacock, who is now married to Buzz. The new owners are strongly dedicated to upholding the long-standing high regard in Norfolk for Johnny and Pinky. “We appreciate the patience of the town,” said Boucher, “and we look forward to bringing the business back to the standards of days of old.”