Rogers Jewelry -
G.M. Pollack and Sons
549 Congress Street, Portland, ME
Now this story has a little sparkle to it.
You see that old storefront on Congress Street? Before it became G.M. Pollack & Sons—the name generations of Mainers would come to know—it was Rogers Jewelers. But the story we want to tell begins in 1955, when Gerald and Perle Pollack came to Maine with a dream and opened a little jewelry store of their own.
Like so many Jewish families who came before them, they weren't looking to build an empire. They were looking to build a life.
Gerald had learned the jewelry business in Boston before bringing his family north. Little by little, customer by customer, the business grew. Before long, the little shop on Congress Street had become G.M. Pollack & Sons.
Now, in those days, jewelry wasn't just jewelry.
A wedding ring wasn't simply something you bought. It was a promise.
An engagement ring wasn't just a diamond. It was the beginning of a family's story.
A watch marked a graduation. A necklace celebrated an anniversary. Every piece carried a memory.
And the people behind the counter? They became part of those memories too.
Stan Pollack, Gerald's son, often told a story about standing in the front window of that first store with his father. Gerald pointed to the people walking along Congress Street and said, "Those people are your bosses. They're the ones who will give you your paycheck if you treat them with respect and courtesy."
Stan never forgot that lesson. That's why people didn't simply shop at Pollack's. They trusted Pollack's.
There was a story Stan loved to tell about a blind gentleman who came into the store looking for an engagement ring. Instead of rushing him, Stan spent hours placing ring after ring into his hands, letting him feel each setting until he found the one that was just right.
"Before he was done," Stan liked to say, "that man could see the diamond he was buying."
You know, that's the kind of story people remember.
Under Stan's leadership, what began as one little Portland storefront grew into one of New England's best-known independent jewelry businesses, with stores across Maine and New Hampshire. But no matter how much it grew, the philosophy never changed.
Treat people well.
Listen first.
Relationships matter more than sales.
Outside the showroom, Stan and his wife, Doris, quietly gave back to the community they loved. Together they helped found the Levy Day School and K'ton Ton Nursery School, supported Jewish education, led Israel Bond drives, volunteered throughout southern Maine, and gave generously of both their time and their resources. If there was a cause that strengthened Maine or the Jewish community, chances are the Pollacks found a way to help.
Eventually, like so many beloved family businesses, G.M. Pollack & Sons closed its doors as shopping habits changed and online competition reshaped the industry. But businesses aren't remembered simply because they lasted a long time.
They're remembered because of the people behind them.
Today, Stan's memory continues to shine through the lives he touched, and Doris continues the quiet kindness and generosity that the two of them modeled together for decades. Their legacy isn't measured by diamonds or gold. It's measured by thousands of relationships, countless acts of generosity, and a simple belief that every customer—and every neighbor—deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.
So the next time you pass a jewelry store window, don't just admire what's sparkling inside.
Remember the Pollacks.
Because the most valuable thing they ever gave Maine wasn't found in a display case.
It was the way they made people feel.
