1959 was a year that had Ike as President, Bonanza on TV, tailfins on cars at their largest and Ford offering factory four wheel drive on their trucks for the first time. It was also the year Alexander Kopp decided to leave his job as a Chevrolet salesman at Lancaster’s Roberts Motors and strike out on his own. Lying dormant for several years, 29 Middle St. in Lancaster was the location of the former Alexander Motor Sales, the last in a string of Ford dealerships that stretched back to the 1920’s. Al purchased the real estate and filled it with the contents of a closed Ford dealership in Bridgeton, Maine and so began North Country Motor Sales Inc.
Active within the business at some level from the time his father first opened the garage, Kevin Kopp formally joined his father as a salesman in 1966. Falcons, Galaxies, Fairlanes, Mavericks, Broncos, LTDs, Pintos and Granadas were just some of the Ford models North Country Motors sold during the 60’s and 70’s. Often with just four or five employees, Al Kopp and his then partner George Carter, along with Kevin as the only salesman, worked long hours to exist in the same town with larger more well established competition. The importance of happy, loyal customers came very clear during these early days of building the business and personal attention to customer service became a habit of the Kopps.
1980 was the year Kevin bought out George Carter’s share of the business and the father and son team now officially became partners. The 1980’s were a time of growth for Lancaster’s Ford dealership. Several adjoining buildings were acquired and razed to make room for expansion to the service department and sales lot. The number of employees swelled from under ten to more than twenty. Bill Elliot was dominating Winston Cup in a smaller and sleeker Ford Thunderbird, the Mustang was a V8 powered muscle car again, and the futuristic, jellybean styling of the new Taurus was like nothing ever sold before.
The most important thing to come from the 1980’s at North Country Ford was not the cars or the additions however, it was the people. The list of employees who joined the team during this time includes Bill Rugh, Debbie Turner-Pike, Bill Clark, Dave Lufkin, “Midge” Rosebrook, Gary Collins, and Tom Foss. The impressive part of this fact is that all these people are still here to this day!
See photo of Kevin & Alexander -circa 1981.
This time of growth was also the time that Kevin’s only two children, brothers Mike and Keith, began their involvement with the dealership. Beginning with only enough skills to be in the way, both brothers worked through the various beginning positions of “go-fer”, floor sweeper, car washer, trash hauler, driver, wrecker operator, body shop help, etc. Both brothers found they enjoyed the business and formally joined the team after college, Mike in 1990 as a salesman and Keith in 1995 as a partsman.
Escort, Probe, Explorer, Crown Victoria, Expedition and the best seller of all, F-Series truck were the models that powered North Country Ford through the 1990s. Customer services were also expanded during this time with the addition of North Country Ford Autobody on Route 135 and a fleet of new Ford rental cars. Not ones for the fabricated “Clearance Sale” or gimmicky mass mailings of junk mail, we have always maintained a large presence at the Lancaster Fair held every Labor Day weekend. This 6-day event is where we showcase the new models, make deals on last years models, and most importantly make contact with many of our customers.
Fair deals, honest advice, and dedicated family and staff all add up to three generations and over 48 years of good business and satisfied customers.
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