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Crosby Westland Oil last remaining in ND

Submitted Photo Joan Sorum, Kenny Sorum, Ciara Sorum and Kendall Sorum, from left to right, are shown in front of the threshing show display in Crosby.

CROSBY — The last remaining Westland Oil Services station in North Dakota is in Crosby in Divide County.

Kenny Sorum took ownership of Westland Oil Services in December 1961, a full-service gas station providing fuel, tire services, oil changes and auto services.

Gas prices have fluctuated greatly over the 60 years Sorum has been in business. When Sorum took over Westland in Crosby in 1961, a gallon of gas was 32 cents. In 1982 when his son, Kendall Sorum, started, it was $1.32. Now with granddaughter, Ciara Sorum, in the business, Kenny Sorum, referring to the price of gas, said, “It ain’t good,” at $5.

A few years back, Kenny Sorum would have had to pick up all tires and supplies in Minot or Minneapolis, and even once in Iowa — which worked well at that time to pick up the boards for Crosby’s hockey rink. In 1966, Sorum added a spray business, and in 1985, propane and bulk fuel deliveries. Today, tires and supplies are delivered almost daily.

“Sorums,” as it is warmly referred to in Crosby, has been a family operation with Sorum’s five children and at least four of his grandchildren all spending time working at Westland’s. Son, Kendall, along with his wife, Erin, and daughter, Ciara, run the station now, but people can catch Kenny almost anytime, always ready to help someone or enjoy a visit. Kenny Sorum considers visiting with folks and making deliveries to be his favorite part of the business.

Submitted Photo Joan and Kenny Sorum are shown in this wedding photo 65 years ago on June 30.

Westland Oil Services in Crosby originally was a subsidiary of Westland Oil filling station in Minot, which previously had locations in eastern North Dakota and western Montana. Now the Minot building houses Atypical Brewery & Barrelworks, and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Kenny Sorum proudly speaks of his family. Son Kendall has been working at Westland’s since he was 14. “The only place he has worked,” Kenny Sorum said, “Ciara is strong and can fix a tire and weld, like no man.”

“It is fun to carry on the family business and since we are still a full-service gas station, it’s fun to hear the customers comment on how they don’t see full service very often. We are still old school here,” Ciara Sorum said.

“I enjoy taking my grandpa out now in the propane truck and listening to him recall his stories of delivering propane through the years, growing up around the station like it was our second home and working with my brothers, Maverick and Remington, and cousin, Bjorn, all through high school,” Ciara Sorum said.

Kenny Sorum and his wife, Joan, will be celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary on June 30.

Submitted Photo Left to right are Kenny Sorum and Ciara Sorum with Friesen Cross horses and tank wagon.

The Sorum family also spends a lot of time with their hobby Friesian Cross horses and wagons. Over the past 60 years Kenny Sorum with his horses and wagons has been a large part of the holidays, parades and even funeral processions in Crosby and the surrounding communities.

This Father’s Day most likely will be spent hooking up the horses and going around town giving rides and having a family supper at grandma’s and grandpa’s, Ciara Sorum said.

Submitted Photo Kendall, Ciara and Kenny Sorum, left to right, are shown at the pumps.

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