S&S Motors, Three Generations of Family Tradition

1949 was an inventive year in the automotive industry. It was the year post-war era vehicles were introduced. Their designs were sleeker, swoopier, wider and lower. Back then showroom floors touted the all new Ford F-1 pickup truck and the woody station wagon. It was the age of coupes, tudors, newly designed two-door sedans, and customers could drive brand new cars off the lot for no more than $2,200.

1949 was the first year since 1941 that any civilian vehicles were manufactured. In between those years, companies like Ford, were building general purpose military jeeps and diverting capacity to produce B-24 Libertator Bombers, tanks and other products for the war effort.

For one Watford City man, it looked to be a good year to open up shop. And that's just what he did. When Arne Sanford returned home from World War II he was ready to take on the challenge of owning his own business. So, in 1946, he partnered up with Llyod Stevens, a farmer from nearby Rawson, and together they spent several years detailing how they would open the doors to their own Ford and Mercury dealership. Doors that after 65 years, are still open for business and owned and operated under the family name.

Today, after three generations, S&S Motors is still owned and operated by the Sanford family. "Prior to going to the war, my grandpa ran the Standard Oil Station. He was always business oriented," Brent Sanford, current S&S Motors owner, recalled.

In the early years of the business there were a number of hand-offs as business partners came and went; first when Norman Sanford bought out Stevens in 1950 and in 1974 when the business was bought out by Wayne and David Sanford, both cousins.

Arne was the fifth child of 10 born to Norwegian immigrants, Ingeman and Martha. He grew up some 29 miles north of Watford City near Tobacco Gardens.

In October of 2004, the business again changed hands when Brent Sanford, grandson to Arne and son to Wayne, took over the business somewhat unexpectedly. "They had no interest in selling the business or in renting it out. They were planning to shut the doors and call it quits at that time," Brent Sanford said. At the time, he and his wife, Sandi, were living in Denver and had made the decision to move back to Brent's hometown of Watford City to raise their family. "I felt like there was little choice but to draw myself back to the business and it feels good," he said. He credits his wife with assisting him with all of the higher level decision making while also caring for their three children, Sydney, 13, Nicolas, 5, and Erin, 3.

Throughout the decades the business has flexed and contracted while attempting to stay in step with the times. In the 1970s the Sanfords focused on selling Versatile tractors and swathers while in the 1980s they sold more recreational vehicles. After Ford purchased the franchise back in 2002, S&S Motors became an independent dealership selling new or used, and non-Ford makes and models. They've managed to keep up on technology as well. Today, the business uses computer diagnostics to find and repair vehicle problems. "It is no longer purely mechanical repair. A great automotive tech is a "techie" in the current sense of the word," Brent said.

When he returned to open the business he was excited to take part in the business growth trend taking place. But, he never imagined just how much his business would grow. In recent years, because of the oil boom population explosion, he saw a need to expand the square footage of the business. He purchased the Taylor Ag facility in an effort to double the size of his shop and office.

For Brent the business is full of family memories. As a child he spent many days at the shop peering into the showroom cars and climbing on the new tractors sitting on the lot. "I spent a lot of time playing in my grandpa's office. I actually stuck his old political bumper stickers that read "Arne G "Bud" Sanford for Mayor" all over his office. That later became my office with the same desk and bumper stickers still attached to the inside of the desk," Brent recalled.

Civil service is another tradition for the Sanford family. It also began with Arne, who served as the Mayor of Watford City for 19 years. For years, the community's library was named after him. Brent's father, Wayne, served as president of the city council for eight years.

Since 2010, Brent has served as the Mayor of Watford City and prior to that spent four years serving on the town council.

Brent's maternal grandfather, Les Sivertson owned and operated Keene Garage, in Keene, N.D. "A rancher once called him the Mayor of Keene. After that I thought to myself, I really didn't have a choice to follow these traditions, did I," Brent stated.