Challenge

4th Generation Family Owned For Over 100 Years Since 1912 AMERICAN PIONEERS Like many great pioneers, Max Greenberg in 1905 entered the U.S. through Ellis Island alone and still a teenager. He worked in New York City for several years before moving to Florida to work at Daytona Hardware. When he heard about the platting of the new town Lake Worth, he took his experience south. A typical frontier town that did not yet have electricity or running water, many inhabitants still lived in tents.

In 1912, Pioneer Hardware opened its doors on Dixie Avenue, selling just what pioneers would need : Dynamite to blow up the tree stumps Saw hammers and nails to build the houses Glass, screen and sash weights for windows Door knobs, hinges, and lots of white paint Kerosene lanterns for light Chicken wire, guns and fish hooks Wash tubs, washboards, and clothes line. As Lake Worth prospered, Max saw the opportunity to open a new line of service to locals.

Basic housing had been constructed, and a growing population needed new kinds of supplies. The business moved to Lake Avenue, and by 1920 evolved into Pioneer Hardware & Furniture. Along Lake Worth’s main thoroughfare, Pioneer Hardware & Furniture gained a reputation for high quality that brought in people from great distances and made it the largest retailer in town.

Max provided goods made as far away as Michigan, and featured a new item that of course shaped modern life, the electric refrigerator. Other items included : porcelain top kitchen tables ice boxes and kerosene stoves cooking utensils and ice cream makers dishes and dishpans linoleum and fiber rugs beds, dressers and rocking chairs