The Zale Legacy

During the early 20th Century Wichita Falls oil boom, immigrant Russian Jewish families came seeking a better life, including Morris Bernard Zalefsky, who was born in 1901 and learned the jewelry trade from his uncle, Sam Kruger. After opening a store inside a drug store in Graham, he returned to Wichita Falls in 1924 because of Ku Klux Klan activity there, Americanized his name to Zale, opened his own store at this location on March 29, 1924, and formed the Zale Jewelry Company with his family. As the business spread into nearby states, Zales broadened its inventory, offered easy credit, employee stock options, and sales training, used aggressive advertising, and acquired jewelry stores across the nation. The company survived the Great Depression, grew even larger after World War II, moved its headquarters to Dallas in 1946, and in 1951 Morris Zale and his family created the Zale Foundation to provide scholarships and social service grants to minorities and the less fortunate. By 1958 the company had become Zale Corporation, was listed on the Stock Exchange, and had become the world's largest retail jeweler. In honor of Morris and his wife, Edna Lipshy Zale, the family continues to support the Wichita Falls community and its people.

Wichita Falls, Texas · United States