After 37 years of tending dirty flues and furnaces at all hours of the day and night, Don Hall of Carmel leaves work today for cleaner pastures. Hall, 65, will retire from Appel Heating & Air Conditioning on South Range Line Road where he went to work in 1960 driving an oil tank truck. And he'll take with him a wealth of good will.

"I had a call at Village Farms about a month ago. It was the daughter of a customer. She new me because I had been to her folks' home for years," he said. Hall was recalling the Richard Abbett family who live in the 5200 block of North Illinois Street. They've been one of his longtime customers. "We moved here in 1960 and Don came and delivered oil for the first time on Christmas Eve," Abbett said. What does Abbett remember about Hall over those 30-plus years? "He mumbles a lot and keeps telling my wife, 'Why should you pay me to clean these filters? Have your husband clean them.' He says that every year," Abbett laughed.

Despite an minor idiosyncraties, Hall has built a faithful following among customers who annually ask for him. Owner Ken Appel says, "Don is very conscientious about doing a good job and treating the customer how he would want to be treated." Appel also noted that regardless of the time or day of the week, "Don will get out there and do what it takes to help them out. It's like a knee-jerk reaction to go do it, not grumble about the weather or anything else; just go do it." Appel's father, Wilbur L. Sr., hired Hall to drive an oil tank truck and the 28 year old new employee started work August 1, 1960. Within a few years, Hall took classes about oil furnaces at Arsenal Technical High School in Indianapolis. That was when the company serviced 800 oil furnaces and had 1,400 fuel oil customers. Last fall, the company sold its bulk oil business but retained the service side.

Hall says not only has it been hard, dirty work, but also cold at times. He is quick to recall the memorable winters. "In the blizzard of '78, I was the only one who showed up at work for three days. I got my neighbor, Charlie Morrison, to help and we put chains on the tank truck and delivered what we could all day and night." His last unforgettable winter was 1983, when the high temperature Christmas Day was zero degrees and the low minus 17. "We worked all day until 1 or 2 in the morning."

Through the years, he's worn out five trucks. Along the way he received the Million Mile Safe Driving Award from the National Trucking Association, and is in the NTA's Hall of Fame in Washington DC. His honor was based on compiling a million miles without an accident or traffic citation. Hall has also been a volunteer firefighter in Carmel. His hobbies range from traveling to antique tractor shows to collecting auto racing programs. He also collects U.S. Army patches from the time he was in the Korean War. He also has a passion for Indiana auto license plates. "I've got the first license plate issued to a car in Hamilton County in 1912. The car was owned by Norm Williams who lived on 116th Street near Clay Center Road."

Reflecting on his career, Hall said, "I made a good living and put the kids through school." He was referring to his daughter, Jolene, a registered nurse at St. Vincent Hospital, and his son, Thomas, an auto mechanic at Miller Auto Care, two doors from Appel Heating. Despite an active avocation, his retirement plans are up in the air. "I haven't made up my mind yet. I can't hang around the house. Norma will run me off," he said of his wife of 41 years, who runs her beauty shop out of their home. "Maybe I'll drive a truck."

By Welton W. Harris II, Staff Writer and one of Don's customers!

We threw a surprise party for Don on his last day, December 31, 1997. Nearly 100 people showed up including his wife Norma, his children & grandchildren, friends and MANY longtime customers. In the photo, L-R: Son Tom, Kim, Jared, wife Norma, daughter Jody, Dave, Justin & THE MAN! His granddaughter Brittany is not pictured, she came later!

John's note: Don is now working for a local car dealer, driving the service shuttle van & helping around the shop. He works 5-6 days a week, sometimes harder than I worked him. Retirement, huh?