In the fall of 1961, Mardell Grandalen bought the Busy Bee Garage from Vernon Fuglestad and changed the name to Cooper Motors.
He started selling and servicing used cars and trucks. Richard Therkelson worked with him from the beginning.
In 1962 he expanded to selling new cars, too. The old shop soon became too small so he built a new shop across the street in 1963.
In the period from 1963 to 1968, several other men worked for him. Some of them included: Roger Hanson, Arnold Helm, Richard Helm, Bennie Eide, and a few others who worked part time.
In 1968, he started selling sporting goods in addition to the cars. The sporting goods included boats, motors, and other equipment.
By 1972 he was selling sporting goods only. To boating equipment he added snowmobiles and hunting equipment.
In 1974 motorcycles were added as the transportation costs were increasing and people were looking for economical ways of transportation.
After Mardell's death in December of 1978, Cooper Motors is owned by his wife, Audrey and two sons, Morris and Larry. Larry is the present manager.
The original shop building was the first store built by Thompson and Odegaard in 1882. It has since been torn down and replaced with a steel building used as a warehouse for the Cooper Motors business.
Source: Cooperstown, North Dakota 1882-1982 Centennial Page 209