40th Anniversary Celebration
We are celebrating forty years of milling success. Forty years is certainly a long time but the fact is that the greater story is more enduring and interesting than just these last forty years.
The Matthaei family roots in this industry go back over 300 years to Marberg, Germany where the family opened up their first bakery in 1686. In 1872, Henry Matthaei, having migrated from Germany, opened up his bakery in Kansas City. His son, William, became a master baker in the family tradition.
William accepted a position with the Fleishmann's Yeast Company and was transferred to Tacoma, Washington. In Tacoma, William entered business for himself and bought one bakery and built another. He became one of the dominant baking companies in Western Washington. Also in Tacoma there was a physician, Dr. Jackson, who had developed a hot cereal formulation based on whole grain wheat, rye, bran and flax seed. He called this hot cereal "Roman Health Meal".
The doctor and the baker came together and William bought Dr. Jackson's company. The healthy grain blend was formulated into bread. In 1929, William sold his bakery to Continental Baking Company and pursued full time the national licensing of his "Roman Meal" bread and the sale of "Roman Meal" hot cereal. One of William's sons, Charles, was born in 1920. Charles graduated from the University of Washington and served as an officer on the USS Missouri during World War II. After his military service, Charles joined the company and assumed leadership. During that time the grain mixes were made in Bozeman, Montana and Tacoma, Washington. Seeking a central site close to the raw materials, Charles came to Fargo, North Dakota and selected his site for the Roman Meal Milling Company. The new mill began operation in 1969 with seven employees, three finished products and five raw materials. Charles's oldest son, Bill, entered the family business after having attained his advanced education degrees and completing naval service during the Viet Nam era. In 1988, the Mill was taken independent under the ownership of Bill and his family. Under Bill's inspired leadership the business has since built a second mill, built a packaging plant, a toaster line and a blending plant. The current customer base exceeds seventy accounts with 170 different products.
Bill and his wife, Joan, have two children. Elizabeth, a health care professional, and Peter who has elected to follow the family path into the industry. Peter has a business degree from Washington State University and is currently working on his MBA at North Dakota State University. Peter and his wife, Crystal, have lived in Fargo for just under two years.
It's a wonderful story of an enduring family business, commitment to high ethical practices, and being associated with a wonderful town, Fargo, North Dakota.