Roger and Nancy Richards

Sun pillars shine above the rising sun on a cold Monday morning, looking eastward from Woodlawn Park. (Photo/Kelly Kuntz.)

Michael Stein 

A long-standing Moorhead-based business, Town & Country Oil & Propane is something of a rarity these days: a family owned and operated operation that grew from the ground up. Starting in Glyndon, it wound its way through many stages of the area’s history and development. Roger and Nancy Richards, who started the business in April 1969, have been joined in the operation by their son Shane.

Growing up on a family dairy farm near Glyndon, Roger gained a strong work ethic getting up early for chores before heading off to school. “It was a typical family farm,” Roger said. “We were a family of six. My older brother and I milked the cows in the morning before school. When I was a sophomore in high school, dad sold the milk cows and bought a grocery store in Glyndon. So, then I had to go open up the store at 7 in the morning, which was fine because it was warm and clean.”

Roger and Nancy, who grew up in Moorhead, married in 1968 while he was still living on the farm. “But I needed a winter job, so I went to work for Gilderhus Oil Company in Moorhead.” Shortly after, the territory manager for Standard Oil asked Roger if he would be interested in the bulk agency in Glyndon.

“We had just gotten married and living in a trailer house on my dad’s farm,” Roger said. “We needed $2,700 to buy a fuel truck.” Long story short, details of the offer were made on Friday and Roger was told he had until Sunday to decide—or they would offer the agency to someone else.

“We talked it over and I spoke to my dad, who said it could be a good opportunity for us. We had nothing to lose, so we decided to go for it. And that was the start of our company.”

“In 1976, Standard Oil changed its structure from agents to jobbers,” Nancy said. “We had to buy our own equipment and the product and sell it ourselves.” Roger added that this was their first big investment, which also opened up other opportunities to expand their territory. In 1978, they purchased Schulstad Oil in Hawley.

“In 1980, we purchased Gilderhus Oil, which is how we got to be in Moorhead,” Long-time residents might recall that the station was located at 7th Street and Main Avenue. Operating under the name Richards Oil Co., it included a Standard Oil service station and bulk delivery service. “We had a service bay and a mechanic who could tune an engine just by listening to it.”

In 2000, Roger and their son Shane, an NDSU graduate, purchased the Amoco convenience store at 8th and Main. It was later renamed Richards Tesoro after BP merged with Amoco.

“Back then, convenience stores were open 24 hours a day,” Roger said. “We had a lot of college kids working for us. We operated that location for 16 years until the city came along and told us they were going to put a turning lane on that corner and it would go across our property. We weren’t looking to sell at the time because we had a lot of steady customers at that corner.”

The cost of digging up and moving underground tanks was negligible, so the City of Moorhead ended up buying the property by eminent domain. Richards Tesoro closed on Christmas Eve 2015.

“We purchased Anderson Oil in Ada in 2002. That brought us into the propane side of the business.” For a time, the Richards also owned the Travel Mart, formerly Matson Oil, on North Highway 75 in Moorhead. “We had to close that last summer because the pumps and other equipment needed to be replaced, and we couldn’t compete with the growing number of convenience stores in the area.”

Throughout all the ups and downs of running a business in good times and bad, Town & Country Oil & Propane has marked more than 50 years as a family business, serving the Red River Valley and the Minnesota lakes country.

“When we started, we had one truck and an account book,” Nancy said. Since 1989, the business has operated from an office in the Moorhead Industrial Park with about 15 employees. Shane serves as chief operating officer, Roger as chief executive officer, and Nancy as chief financial officer.

With the Ada location, T & C provides gas, diesel fuel, propane, and lubricants to farmers, wholesalers such as convenience stores, and other businesses in about a 50-mile radius.

“We’ve had a lot of great employees over the years,” Roger said. “We’ve become like family to each other, and we want to keep this a family business. Looking back, we had some tough years, but, thankfully, the good outweigh the bad.” Among the biggest changes Roger mentioned are homes switching from fuel oil to natural gas and farms becoming much larger operations.

Roger and Nancy said they have no plans to sell the business, preferring to keep it in the family and perhaps on to the next generation.

“When we got married we never thought we would start a business, but here we are.” Nancy said. “It’s been a good partnership.” The Richards are blessed with four children, 11 grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.