Bio of GROFF, Richard L. (b.1890), Hennepin Co., MN
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EXTRACTED FROM: History of Minneapolis, Gateway to the Northwest; 
Chicago-Minneapolis, The S J Clarke Publishing Co, 1923; Edited by: Rev. 
Marion Daniel Shutter, D.D., LL.D.; Volume I - Shutter (Historical); 
volume II - Biographical; volume III - Biographical

RICHARD L. GROFF - Vol II, pg 321-322
Richard L. Groff is the manager and one of the directors of the Commander Mill
Company. He has been associated with this corporation since July, 1917, and he
is familiar through long experience with every phase of the grain trade, so that
he is well qualified for the responsibilities that devolve upon him in this
connection. The company has a number of mills in southern Minnesota with large
production capacity and in their control Mr. Groff displays marked executive
ability, thoroughness and indefatigable energy. He is yet a young man, his birth
having occurred in Minneapolis, May 21, 1890, his parents being Lewellyn and
Mary E. (Balch) Groff, who were representatives of pioneer families of this
city. His grandfather, Henry Francis Balch, was one of the first contractors in
Minneapolis and developed a business which in volume and importance was scarcely
equaled in the Northwest. Lewellyn Groff also became a contractor and architect,
following business along those lines in Chicago for a number of years.
Richard L. Groff was educated in the public schools of Minneapolis and after
putting aside his textbooks entered the employ of the F. H. Peavey Company. His
next position was with Russell Miller & Company and later with Shane Brothers &
Wilson. Through these various changes, each of which marked an upward step in
his career, he gained valuable knowledge and experience of the grain trade and
the milling business and each successive promotion brought him wider
opportunities and a broader outlook. In July, 1917, he became associated with
the Commander Mill Company in the position of sales manager and in 1921 was made
general manager, a merited recognition of his efficiency and his loyalty to the
interests of the corporation represented. The company is one of the largest
concerns 6f the kind in the North-west, its mills having a daily production of
about seven thousand barrels of flour. Mr. Groff is now one of the directors of
the company and by reason of his long experience and sound judgment his opinions
carry weight with the officials of the corporation.
In May, 1915, Mr. Groff was united in marriage to Miss Dorothea Stembel, a
daughter of Clarence P. Stembel, who is engaged in the car manufacturing
business. Mr. and Mrs. Groff have two children: Nancy and Richard L., Jr. Mrs.
Groff is a great-granddaughter of the man who had the first printing press in
Minnesota and her grandmother was one of the first white children born in this
state. Mr. and Mrs. Groff occupy an enviable social position in this city in
which their lives have been passed and the hospitality of their home is greatly
enjoyed by their many friends. Mr. Groff has never sought to figure prominently
in club circles, in political life, or in connection with public activities,
aside from meeting his full duties of citizenship. He has concentrated his
efforts and attention upon his business affairs and it has been his close
application, thoroughness and determination that have enabled him to advance
steadily, step by step, to a notable position of responsibility for one of his
years.