William Mitchell Rile & Mitchell Supreme

William Mitchell Rile (usually referred to as "Mitch") came from Philadelpia, where he was born on May 15^th, 1892. Family lore has it that he once beat Bill Tilden in tennis when they were at the Germantown Academy. W. M. Rile received his BSc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 1913.

Pauline ("Polly") Sweeten was born June 10^th, 1895. They were married on June 29^th, 1918 and moved to New Jersey, eventually settling in Montclair. W. M. Rile was in the retail oil business. At first it encompassed a wide variety of petroleum products, including a chain of gas stations. The rise of the large regional and national chains put an end to that, so he focused on the fuel oil business. W. M. Rile sold the business to Tenneco in the 1960s, though it was subsequently re-privatized.

William Mitchell Rile

Pauline Sweeten Rile

Polly and Mitch at their home on Hoburg Place for their daughter Marjorie's wedding in 1942

The company he started in 1921 was Mitchell Supreme, and it is still in business today (visit The Mitchell Supreme Fuel Co.). It has since expanded into cooling sales and service as well.

This is a picture of one of the early trucks. We have no information about either the truck or where or when the picture was taken. If you happen to know anything about the make of the truck, the model, or the year, please send me an e-mail or give me a call using my Contact Information.

Early model of a Mitchell Oil Sales truck

Mitchell Supreme Fuel Co.

These are pictures of the facility in Orange, NJ, in 2011. The first thing you notice is how clean the facility, the trucks, and the equipment are – very unusual!

The classic white-blue-red color scheme was in use as far back as the 1950s. It was used throughout the company, not only on the trucks but also for things like pencils with the company name on them. It's interesting not only how the motif has been continued, but also how it's been extended with colorful artwork that works very well with the original design.

The trucks also reflect the company's expansion from a fuel oil company to include air conditioning as well.

Garage and administrative offices

The classic oil truck, with the traditional color scheme

Oil truck at the refueling station

Row of oil trucks, many with the newer, more colorful designs

Oil truck with a winter motif, merged with the traditional paint scheme

Oil truck with a fall motif

Click on any image on this page to see the full-size picture.