This building was built by former mayor O.B. Erickson, along with the adjacent drive-in restaurant at 5408 Minnetonka.
Jerry Longabaugh, who had been at Jerry’s Shell at 5551 Lake Street, moved across the street to this location in 1950. Jerry owned it until at least 1956 and probably much longer.
The photos above and below were taken in October 1951 by the Department of Public Works.
In 1960 Jerry’s was selling the “Cubie,” a 24-hour ice bucket, a $1.99 value, for only 99 cents with a purchase of 10 gallons of gas. This product was made of Dylite, “the wonder Plastic, the World’s Best Insulator.” Dylite appears to be Styrofoam. You could also register to win 50 free gallons of Shell gas.
When Erickson died in May 1961, this property was sold. It was still Jerry’s in June 1961.
ROGER’S
Al Hartman:
Roger Ilstrup bought out Jerry’s Shell and built his new station, smaller than the set up is now, with new pumps. I remember that his pumps were the first ones I ran into that had the inner islands for full service and the outer islands for self service. It was interesting at the time pumping one’s own gasoline. I can’t remember what the price difference was but it was apparently enough for the full service to go away after not too long. Jerry’s Shell had always been full service.
Someone else thought it had been Q Petroleum before it Roger Ilstrup bought it, and another remembers that it was called Ilstrup’s before it was called Roger’s. Another memory is that the station had little boxes that the attendants sat in waiting for the cars to come in.
Roger owned the station until the late ’90s. Roger died in 2010.
In 1996 Roger’s was one of several locations for the movie “Feeling Minnesota” starring Keanu Reeves and Cameron Diaz.
This was Roger’s until at least 1999.
By 2007 it was a Holiday Station, convenience store, and car wash, all in attractive brick.
As a result of highway expansion and the replacement of the Minnetonka Bridge, the station closed on March 31, 2014. It was demolished on about April 13, 2017.
Photos below courtesy of Jeffrey Liss.
