“The square was where everybody came to shop and do business, especially on Saturdays,” recalled Dianna Dushkin, whose father managed and then owned Conroe Furniture. “Saturday was when the folks from outside the community would bring the family to shop in Conroe — to get supplies, see a movie or visit with friends.”

Conroe was a smaller town in the ‘30s and ‘40s, but logging, ranching and oil brought jobs and payrolls to the community, benefiting retailers who lined the business district surrounding the Montgomery Courthouse.

The history of Conroe Furniture began with Max Rothenberg who was born July 1, 1896 in Lithuania.

He came to New York when he was 11 with his two brothers and a sister after his parents died.

Courtesy Photo
From left, Dianna, Lillian, Max and Annette Rothenberg. Max Rothenberg came to Conroe in 1919 and opened Conroe Furniture in 1932. The store was run by family members for nearly 80 years

After serving in the Navy and then failing to get established in New York, Rothenberg came to Houston in the fall of 1919, eventually taking a job in October 1919 with the Holland Amdur Furniture Company in Conroe.

In 1932, Rothenberg bought the business and opened it at the Conroe Furniture Company, operating it with his wife Lillian.

It was then managed and run by three generations of the family for nearly 80 years.

Larry Foerster, head of the Montgomery County Historical Commission, recalls Aaron Dushkin, Dianna’s husband, being a well-respected businessman in Conroe when Foerster arrived in the city in 1978.

Aaron Dushkin was a past president of the Conroe Lions Club and an officer in the Chamber of Commerce. After Aaron’s passing, his son, Leland Dushkin, followed in his father’s legacy of operating Conroe Furniture with his mother Dianna until the store closed in 2003.

“Aaron, Dianna and Leland had a gentle spirit with a real heart for serving both their customers and the Conroe community,” Foerster said.

Leland Dushkin continues to serve Conroe as a long-time member of the Rotary Club of Conroe and a CPA with the Hereford, Lynch, Sellars, Kirkham firm in Conroe.

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A circa 1945 photo of the G. F. Wackers Five & Dimes Store in downtown Conroe on the square

Next door to Conroe Furniture was the G. F. Wackers store, a five and dime operation selling a wide range of general merchandise — featuring the variety of a Target or Wal-Mart store, but operating in a fraction of the amount of space.

“The store was well known for its toys and pet department,” said Sharon Walters, daughter of store manager Larry Henry. “Wackers also had house wares, office and art supplies, a candy case — a little bit of everything.”

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Store Manager Larry Henry in front of G. F. Wackers Five & Dime on the south side of the courthouse in downtown Conroe

Henry moved his wife Jessie Mae and daughter Carolyn to Conroe in 1940 to take over the G. F. Wackers chain store. He managed the retail operation here until his retirement in 1971. Walters has fond memories of growing up in Conroe and spending time at the store.

Walters recalled that merchandise was stocked in counters and clerks were available to assist customers interested in a purchase. She remembered being interested in boxes of sewing and embroidery thread — which she accidentally knocked over creating a big mess the clerks had to clean up.

“I was also fascinated by the costume jewelry,” she said. “Sometimes we’d come home from the store and my parents would find several rings on my fingers that really weren’t supposed to be there.”

Later, Walters, 73, recalled working at the store and earning 50 cents an hour for her time on the job.

“Prices were a lot lower, of course,” said Walters. “You could get a nice doll or truck for your child for $1.98.”

One of her jobs was caring for the parakeets, canaries and cockatiels the family raised to sell in the store’s pet department, alongside fish and other small animals. It was a job she enjoyed.

Courtesy Photo
A 2014 photo of the former Conroe Furniture building in downtown Conroe. Civic leader and entrepreneur Jay Ross Martin owns the former Conroe Furniture building. While it is currently empty, Martin said he has plans to renovate the building.

Dushkin, 83, said working at Conroe Furniture was a family affair for which she got no extra money, though it was built into her weekly allowance. She was not always thrilled with having to spend Saturdays at the store.

“The store was open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.,” she recalled. “Sometimes I could get away to the Crighton Theatre and watch a movie or meet friends at one of the soda fountains at the drug stores on the square.”

Both Walters and Dushkin noted that Conroe was a small, friendly community where people knew their neighbors and customers. Arranging store credit was not difficult.

“And if someone was having a hard time and couldn’t pay, they’d come into the store and let you know that they would catch up the following week,” said Dushkin.

She also noted that the furniture industry changed significantly over the years. Several decades ago, most furniture sold in local stores was made in America — in Michigan and later in North Carolina. The construction and workmanship was quite good, she said, better than today.

“Now almost everything is made overseas,” said Dushkin. “It’s a lot different.”

The same is true of shopping habits. Over the years, retail shopping evolved with the introduction of shopping malls and retail centers outside the downtown area. As options and competition grew, both businesses faced challenges and eventually closed down.

In 2006, the exterior of the buildings were refurbished as part of the Main Street redevelopment project. The former G. F. Wackers building is owned by the family of local attorney Steve Jackson and serves as his law office. Civic leader and entrepreneur Jay Ross Martin owns the former Conroe Furniture building. While it is currently empty, Martin said he has plans to renovate the building.

“We’d like to restore the building for use as an event center — for meetings, dinners, catering and receptions,” said Martin. “It’s going to take some work to bring it back to the condition it needs to be in, but it’s a good building and the downtown area could use a place for people to gather.”

For a lot of locals, having a good reason to come to downtown Conroe will bring back good memories.