The Infamous Hillside Pen

Warning, this is long-winded and boring, continue reading at your own risk. I have been telling the stories of the Hillside pen for years. We started giving away a pen at the Cecil County Fair about 10 years ago, simply because it was the cheapest give-away pen at the time. The following year we still had the same pen. Several people stopped by our booth to get another because they liked the pen they got from Hillside last year. Seemed odd to me, but OK, thanks for stopping by and saying hello. Here it is 10 years later and dozens of people come by our booth each year at the Fair to re-up on their Hillside pens. Many customers come to our office and ask for our pens. I hear story after story of how this is the “best writing pen” people have ever encountered. It felt like a practical joke on me, but with no possible punchline. Regardless, for some reason, people really love the pens we give away.

Today I was told a story about a hospital visit. During that visit, an observation was made that the nurse was using a broken Hillside pen. When asked about the pen, the nurse admitted to getting the pen from the Cecil County Fair, and it was her favorite pen. Unfortunately, the pen was in a bit of disarray. These friends of mine happened to be sitting on a nice personal supply of Hillside pens and kindly replaced the nurse’s broken pen with a brand new one.

Thank you to everyone that continues to validate that Hillside has great pen picking ability.

Your support of Hillside is 100% support for local, family-owned businesses.

Tips for the upcoming cold weather

A few tips from Hillside to be prepared for the upcoming heating season.

Recent mornings have been chilly, which means that the cold weather is not far away. There are several things that you can do to ensure that your heating equipment performs optimally.

Give your equipment a test run. None of us want to turn the heat on sooner than necessary. A test run will give you piece of mind that your unit will come on when you actually need it. Nobody likes to go out to his or her car first thing in the morning just to realize you have a dead battery. If your heater is not going to kick on, it is best you know before you actually need the heat.

Change your air filter regularly. Depending on what type of air filter you have, it should be checked or changed every 1-3 months. Even if you have the expensive cleanable air filters that last an entire year, it is still worth a minutes time to give it a check for dirt or anything that might block airflow.

Close any unused heating vents. If you have rooms or areas of your home that don’t need direct heat, close off the registers or vents. If that part of your house does not need to be heated to a comfortable sitting temperature, don’t waste your money.

Tune-up your equipment regularly. As with any piece of mechanical equipment, proper maintenance will ensure that it is running optimally and efficiently. A little preventative maintenance can go a long way to avoiding untimely breakdowns and prolonging the life of your equipment. Hillside does maintenance, repairs, tune-ups, and offers annual maintenance plans for almost all types of equipment. Check out our services HERE.

Consider a programmable thermostat. These programmable thermostats are ideal for people who have a Programmable Thermostat set schedule, leaving and returning home at the same time each day. A programmable thermostat will turn your equipment on and off to meet your schedule, so it is warm when you get home, but saving you money while you are away. If your schedule is a bit unpredictable, consider a programmable thermostat that you can access from anywhere you have your smartphone or Internet access. Turn your equipment on or off from anywhere, adjust the temperature, check outside temperature, and even change your program schedule whenever you need! Hillside is proud to offer a fantastic remotely accessible programmable thermostat, give us a call if you are interested or would like more info.

Is it time to consider replacement of your equipment? Nobody likes to think about such a major expense, but if you have to, the payback time for newer more efficient equipment is getting shorter and shorter. An investment today can show payback in savings of utility costs in just a few years, not to mention much more efficiency, and not worrying about how much more life is left if your equipment. Hillside always does free estimates on new and replacement equipment and we have financing available for those that qualify.

Your support of Hillside is 100% support for local, family-owned businesses.

Happy Labor Day from your friends at Hillside!

Have a safe and happy Labor Day from Charlie the Dog and your friends at Hillside Heating & Cooling

Thank you for supporting local family businesses.

Congrats to Becca the Candy Champion!

Congratulations to Becca for winning the giant container of candy, $20, and an upcoming dentist appointment! Becca showed up yesterday to pick up her treasures, pose for pictures, and answer questions from the paparazzi. Unfortunately Charlie the Dog took the day off work and was not available for the photo shoot. Becca and everyone I know had a great time at the Cecil County Fair last week. If you did not make it, put the fair on the calendar for next year. One last time, thank you to everyone that stopped by to say hello.

The weather has cooled off nicely, but it is still summer and if caring for your central air conditioner looms on the horizon, keep Hillside in mind. We are still offering a special price for A/C tune-ups. Hillside’s central air conditioner tune-up special is $89, call for details or click here. Hillside also offers a central air conditioner maintenance plan. Call or click here for details if you are interested.

Thank you for your business with Hillside. Your support of Hillside is 100% support for local, family-owned businesses.

Congrats to the Cecil County Fair Winners!

Well, the Cecil County Fair is over and everybody I know had a great time. The weather held out better than most recent years. We had a few lucky winners. Sandy & Barry H from Elk Mills were the winner of 100 gallons on Friday night, they are longtime Hillside customers. Valery P from Rising Sun was the big 200-gallon winner on Saturday night. I think the one everyone is waiting for is the winner of the candy guessing game. 8-year-old Becca from Fair Hill guessed the candies within 3 pieces! She wins the entire jar of candy and $20!

Thank you to everyone that stopped by and said hello. Special thank you to all the new customers from Wilson Fuel that came by and introduced themselves. It is always a pleasure to see old friends and make new ones.

As always please keep Hillside in mind if you, friends, or family is ever in need of any air conditioning, heating, or fuel delivery services. Our referral program pays!

Thank you for supporting local, family-owned businesses by considering Hillside and visiting the Cecil County Fair!

2 more nights of The Cecil County Fair

Only 2 more nights left at The Cecil County Fair. Friday and Saturday at the fair are definitely the most popular nights. The weather forecast looks fantastic for the next couple nights. There are still some opportunities to come out, enjoy the fair, and the beautiful evening weather. The demolition derby is tonight and tomorrow. If you have never experienced one of these, you don’t know what you are missing! Adults playing bumper cars with real cars. It is like a cross between robot and redneck wars.

Thank you to everyone that has stopped by Hillside’s booth to say hello. Welcome to all the new Wilson Fuel customers, and thank you for coming and introducing yourselves. There are still plenty of trinkets to give away, a candy guessing game for the kids, and lots of yummy doggie treats left courtesy of Waggies by Maggies.

Most importantly tonight starts the drawings for FREE OIL AND SERVICE! 100 gallons of free heating oil will be drawn tonight, and 200 tomorrow! Free central air conditioner tune-ups will be pulled each night. Stop by and make sure you get yourself entered.

The fair is in town through Saturday. Come by and spend a night out with the family and friends. Make sure to stop by in the evenings and say hello to the Hillside Gang at our booth.

Thank you for supporting local, family-owned businesses by considering Hillside and visiting the Cecil County Fair!

The Cecil County Fair may be winding down

The Cecil County Fair may be winding down, but for many, the best is still to come. The last few nights at the fair offer the biggest attractions, the rodeo and the smash-up derby! These are the biggest draws of the fair and the events the entire family can agree are spectacles to be seen. The candy guessing game for kids is still up for grabs. There are 4 more nights to stop by and take a guess at the candies for a chance to win the candies, a dentist appointment, and $20.

Thank you to everyone that has stopped by Hillside’s booth to say hello. Welcome to all the new Wilson Fuel customers, and thank you very much for coming and introducing yourselves. Still, plenty of nights to stop by and get your name into the drawings for the FREE OIL AND SERVICE. Plenty of giveaways left to be given away. Also, lots of yummy doggie treats left courtesy of Waggies by Maggies. Come get some treats and let’s swap dog stories.

The fair is in town through Saturday. Come by and spend a night out with the family and friends. Make sure to stop by in the evenings and say hello to the Hillside Gang at our booth.

Thank you for supporting local, family-owned businesses by considering Hillside and visiting the Cecil County Fair!

Cecil County Fair in full swing!

The Cecil County Fair is in full swing. Everyone seems to be having a good time, riding the rides, emptying their wallets to the Carnies in the midway, and breaking all their diet promises. Red velvet funnel cake?! That is a new incarnation not seen before. Come by and try one if that sounds like something right up your decadence alley. The weather has been holding out nicely, the rain has been nice enough to hold off until after 10pm each evening. Saturday night we were all treated with one of the most amazing lightning storms I have ever seen. The rides may have had to close a little early, but the show in the sky was worth it.

Thank you to everyone that has stopped by Hillside’s booth to say hello. Lots of giveaways are flying off the tables, yummy dog treats are being given out courtesy of Waggies by Maggies, and the free oil and service raffle boxes are filling up quickly. A little birdie has told me that the children’s candy guessing game is still up for grabs, apparently, nobody is very close yet. Somebody has to try to beat last years winner, he was within a handful of pieces to win the entire container and $20!

The fair is in town through Saturday. Come by and spend a night out with the family and friends. Make sure to stop by in the evenings and say hello to the Hillside Gang at our booth.

Thank you for supporting local, family-owned businesses by considering Hillside and visiting the Cecil County Fair!

Is you air conditioner performing optimally?

The hot weather appears to be here to stay for a while. All the wet weather has given us something else to concentrate other than high, uncomfortable temperatures. Hopefully, everyone had a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend weather indoors or out. If indoors, there is no doubt your central air conditioner would have been running at full capacity. In the muggiest, hottest time of the day, there was little chance of the best central air conditioner pulling inside temperatures below the mid-to-low 70’s. Performing optimally air conditioners can make a world of difference, but they are not miracle workers.

Did you feel that your air conditioner was performing optimally? If you did not and think you might need a tune-up, some service, or even a replacement, keep Hillside in mind. If you were visiting family or friends for the holiday and thought their home might need a boost, referrals to Hillside can earn you CASH!

Thank you for your business with Hillside. Your support of Hillside is 100% support for local, family-owned businesses.