Herber H. Grow
Herber H. Grow, who came to California
from the Hoosier state with youth, energy and intelligence as his chief assets,
has used these to good advantage and is today at the head of a prosperous
laundry business in Sacramento. He was born in New Point, Decatur county,
Indiana, November 30, 1887, and is a son of Peter C. and Elizabeth (Jungck)
Grow. The father, who has reached the eighty-third milestone life’s journey,
was a cabinetmaker throughout his active business life. The mother attained the
age of seventy-two years, passing away in 1922. They were the parents of seven
sons, of whom four are prominent in the medical profession.
Reared in his native town, Herber H.
Grow there pursued his education until his graduation from the Danville,
Indiana, high school as a member of the class of 1909; while in school there
for four years he made many friends, and he then came to northern California on
borrowed capital. He first located in Berkeley, removing to Stockton eighteen
months later, and there embarked in the towel supply business in 1914. J. E.
McNear was his partner in the enterprise, which was started with a capital of
four hundred dollars. At the end of a year Mr. McNear withdrew from the
concern, disposing of his interest, and later the firm was enlarged by the
admission of the third partner, who acquired one-third of the stock. Mr. Grow
continued a member of the organization until 1922, when he came to Sacramento
and took over the business of the Adams Towel Supply Company at 1026 Eleventh
street, in the rear of the building occupied by the Mohr & Yoerk Company.
In 1924 he bought the present property at 416 Twentieth street and erected the
first unit of the plant, a building forty by eighty feet, installing modern
machinery. At the end of four years the business outgrew these quarters and in
1928 the plant was enlarged by the completion of a second unit of the same
dimensions as the first, also containing the latest equipment. Recently Mr.
Grow purchased the adjoining property, fifty-six by eighty feet in extent, and
on this ground he will soon erect a two-story steel structure to house his
rapidly expanding business. In 1922 he had but five employes and fifty-five are
now required in his plant. Feeling individually responsible for the firm’s
progress, they exert every effort in its behalf, working without the thought of
a boss, and a spirit of harmonious cooperation pervades the institution. This
is due to the fact that they work under the best conditions obtainable, the
plant being well lighted and ventilated, and every precaution has been taken to
safeguard their health. Moreover, their wages are higher than the union scale
and they are treated with kindness and consideration by their employer, to
whose interests they are intensely loyal. Like his employes, Mr. Grow punches
the time clock daily but his hours of labor frequently exceed theirs, for many
of his evenings are devoted to tasks connected with the business, which is
conducted under the style of the Herber H. Grow Company, Inc. As its president
he has maintained a high standard of service and has always followed a
progressive policy. Lux soap is now used exclusively in his laundry, which is
classed with the best in the valley, and the extent of his patronage is indicated
in the fact that he operates nine motor trucks and has nine drivers.
Mr. Grow was married to Miss Marian
Cryan, of Stevens Point, Wisconsin, and they are the parents of a daughter,
Esther, a senior in high school. Mr. Grow has been a Mason for twenty-one years
and is a past master of his lodge. In 1918 he established Delta Lodge at
Stockton, of which he is a life member, and there he organized the De Molay
chapter for boys the following year. He was made chairman of the advisory
board, which had one hundred and ninety-two youths in its first class. At
Stockton he also organized Golden Poppy Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star,
becoming its first patron, and was installed by his brother, who was then most
worthy grand patron of the world. He was a charter member of the Kiwanis Club
of Stockton and on coming to Sacramento transferred his membership here and is
a past president of the Sacramento organization. During his term of office Otis
Earle and he were responsible for the erection of the Campfire lodge on the
American river. Mr. Grow casts his ballot for the candidates of the republican
party but is not active in politics, feeling that his business requires his
undivided attention. He has given to it deep thought and study and his
enterprise, ability and tireless industry have placed him with the leading
laundry men of this part of the state.
Source: History of the Sacramento Valley California Vol. III 1931. Page 42-43.
Transcribed by Marla Fitzsimmons