The legacy of a mid-20th century building constructed in Conroe includes direct ties to financial, legal and medical professions – and a surprising connection to a nationally known evangelical preacher who would eventually fall from grace.

The Conroe National Bank, located at the corner of Simonton and San Jacinto streets in downtown Conroe, was created around 1951

The Conroe National Bank, located at the corner of Simonton and San Jacinto Streets, was created around 1951 because a group of local businessmen were dissatisfied with the policies – or leadership – of existing financial institutions in Conroe at the time.

“The main reason the bank was chartered was because bank examiners at the time didn’t like a certain senior official of a prominent bank in Conroe,” said Woodie W. F. Griffin, son of B. D. Griffin, the first president of the Conroe National Bank. “It was a different time back then.”

Indeed, Conroe was a small, country town back in the late 40s and early 50s, according to former Mayor R. A. Mickey Deison. World War II veterans were looking for opportunity and Conroe’s proximity to Houston made it a viable spot for housing, employment and investment opportunities.

An advertisement for the Conroe National Bank from The Courier newspaper.

The real growth in Montgomery County would come a few years later in the mid-50s when Interstate 45 was constructed. The first prominent residential subdivisions in the mid- 60s were River Plantation and Oak Ridge North.

“Conroe was a town where everybody knew everyone and everyone’s business,” said Deison. “The influx of veterans created business opportunities in a lot of areas, including banking.”

While the Conroe National Bank handled some real estate loans, the bank did more car, personal and business loans, according to Griffin. He noted the bank was profitable under his father’s direction, but did not fare well after his departure.

In the mid-60s the bank relocated to the Frazier and Davis streets location and eventually became Allied Conroe Bank – which later moved to the location occupied by Walgreen’s Drug Store at Frazier and Davis Street. Assistant county attorney B. D. Griffin, grandson of the bank’s president, recalls cutting the ribbon on the building during grand opening ceremonies when he was around five years of age.

Following relocation, the Conroe National Bank building became home to FM radio station KNRO, the first FM radio station in Conroe in 1965. While an innovative upgrade, FM radio was a challenge to launch.

“No one knew what FM radio was,” recalled Rigby Owen Jr., whose family owned the station. “Car radios didn’t have FM radios and most people didn’t have FM radios in their homes – it was a real challenge.”

Owen said the station bought radios preset to 106.9 FM for advertisers so they could hear their ads. They also made a point of providing live coverage of sporting events involving the segregated black and white schools in the local community.

“The black schools in Conroe had championship teams at the time,” said Owen. “We knew there would be a lot of interest from people who couldn’t travel to see the games in person.”

KMCO, originally a daytime AM station owned by the Owen family, was eventually granted a license for 24-hour operations and became KIKR radio in the 70s. The Owen family was approached by evangelical preacher Jimmy Swaggart with an offer to buy KNRO and transition it into a Christian radio ministry. Swaggart changed the call letters to KJOJ – Joy Of Jesus – and began operations.

“We were offered a tidy sum as a cash deal,” said Owen. “We thought it was a great deal at the time, but boy were we wrong.”

Swaggart operated his evangelical radio station for several years – featuring a blind disk jockey. At the end of that period, he sold it for four times what he had paid the Owen family.

“They made a lot of money from ‘love offerings’” recalled Owen. “Swaggart made enough to build a new building in Shenandoah to house their radio station and buy a plane. I’d say it worked out well for them. But when the public learned of his sinful ways, the love offerings stopped and he had to sell the station.”

Now known as LAWVEST Professional Building – short for lawyer investment – is owned by Micky Deison and associates. It houses offices for a lawyer, a dentist, a professional firefighters group and other professional organizations.

Eventually, the original bank building was purchased, gutted and renovated for office and professional suite space. The building, now known as LAWVEST Professional Building – short for lawyer investment – is owned by Micky Deison and associates. It houses offices for a lawyer, a dentist, a professional firefighters group and other professional organizations.

“Conroe is a different place than it was back when Conroe National Bank was built,” said Deison. “Things change over time – or they just don’t last.”

Conroe Courier
December 8, 2013