We watched them grow up with us, the two identical twins who would go into Spokane every Saturday night, from Newman Lake where they lived, for a live performance on KXLY TV to pitch Boyle Oil. Boyle Oil may be gone, at least where it was located on Division, but the jingle the Boyle Twins sang remains in my mind:
When you need coal or oil, call
Boyle.
For your every heating problem, be your furnace old or
new,
Just call the Boyle Fuel
Com-pan-y, and they'll solve it all for you.
When you need coal or oil, call
Boyle.
(twin 1) Fairfax 8 1521
(twin 2) Fairfax 8 1521
They were not quite cute, but were attractive, sophisticated, and aloof. They had a certain, detectable snobbiness; the kind of girls that probably only would go out with rich guys from the South Hill. After all, they were famous, probably recognized everywhere they might have gone, in JJ Newberry's or Nat Park--who knows? I wonder if they went on to anything bigger, maybe even trying out on Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour. If I had thought of it at the time, I might have called Ted at Grand Central Station to ask.
"Stairway to the Stars." I don't think my mom, brother and I missed an episode. One could count on one of the performers being a kid about 9 who played the accordion, undoubtedly "Lady of Spain," and when he got to the part where he jiggled the instrument rapidly, the studio audience would dutifully applaud. Local 1950s television at its American best. The Boyle Beauties (not quite beautiful--pretty at best, but “Boyle Beauties” has a nice alliterative sound to it), would do their bit-gig at the opening, middle and end of the telecast. Did anyone ever get tired of hearing the same four line jingle over and over? I think the only thing new was what kind of dress they would wear.
Boyle Fuel was probably Spokane's Number One fuel dealer, thanks to the Twins. But, there was another heating fuel company that we could rely on. Murphy Favre. Am I wrong about what Murphy Favre sold? Maybe. But one thing I shall always remember, in fact, I even use the phrase Murphy Favre used on their radio spots when someone asks me the time. Remember hearing frequently on radio the brief announcement, "Murphy Favre right time--2 o'clock." You could set your clock on the MF announcements, just as assuredly as Boyle would deliver fuel to your home to keep the furnace going, be it old or new.
Wyatt Newman