Jay J. Kalez was born in Spokane on August 5th, 1895, the son of Martin J. Kalez who in 1889 founded the Rockaway Cafe, a long-time local restaurant. While attending Lewis and Clark High School, Kalez operated a Liberty Lake summer resort owned by his father. After graduation, he spent a year as a salesman for the Spokane wholesale crockery company, M. Seller and Company. In 1917, Kalez entered the University of Washington as a pre-medical student, but left to enter the U.S. Navy before the completion of his freshmen year. After serving overseas, he was discharged in 1921, and went into business with his father, acting as manager and part owner of the Rockaway Cafe. Kalez also managed some of his fathers mining interests in Wallace, Idaho, as well as operating a small sawmill near Liberty Lake. In 1924, he completed a two-year correspondence accounting course, and later devised a system of restaurant accounting which he used in his fathers caf. This impressed the United States Restaurant Association enough to hire Kalez to write a series of monthly articles on efficiency for their publication, The American Restaurant Magazine.
From 1926 through 1930, Kalez lived in the New York City areas, where he did staff and freelance writing for various national magazines such as Field and Stream, Argosy, True Detective, and numerous pulp magazines. During that time, Kalez had over 500 articles and stories published. The Great Depression made it difficult to find free-lance magazine work, so in 1930 Kalez moved back to Spokane. There, he wrote feature articles for some local newspapers, and worked as a U.S. Naval Intelligence Officer for the Spokane region. Kalez also took several Civil Service examinations, which in 1935 resulted in his appointment as district personnel officer for the Eastern Washington office of the Works Progress Administration.
In 1942-43, Kalez took leave from his government position to do public relations work for the national War Scrap Iron Drive, as well as a local drive by the Spokesman-Review which gathered books to send overseas to servicemen. In 1943, Kalez transferred to the Office of Price Administration, where he served as director of the Spokane District, covering all of Eastern Washington. Later, from 1946 until it ceased to exist in 1947, he directed the Spokane office of the Department of Agricultures Sugar Rationing Board. After its closure, although Kalez might have accepted a transfer to another area, he chose to stay in Spokane and wait for another job opening. In the meantime, he worked as Northwest Editor of the Spokane Daily Chronicle, as well as teaching a night school course at Lewis and Clark High School, entitled Writing for Pleasure and Profit.
In December 1948, Kalez accept an assignment in San Francisco with the Public Housing Administration. In February 1949, he was transferred to Seattle, and that June back to Spokane. There, he became a lease and occupancy agent for the Public Housing Administration. In early 1951, he accepted the position of district executive officer of the Office of Price Stabilization, and that December was promoted acting director upon the resignation of the agencys former head. The promotion was later made permanent, and he kept it until the agency went out of existence in 1953. That year, he transferred to Walla Walla, where he headed the technical liaison office of the Army Corps of Engineers. There, Kalez handled news releases, articles, and public relations for the Corps Walla Walla District Office.
Kalez retired in August 1965 and moved back to Spokane. He later wrote numerous historical articles for local newspapers as well as three books, Saga of a Western Town ... (1972), This Town of Ours ... (1973), and Harnessed Waters ... (1976).
Includes correspondence, radio and film scripts Kalez wrote for the U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers, reports, employment papers, resumes, and applications containing biographical information about this life and work. Other items include newspaper clippings, photographs, and various ephemera.
Collection is open to the public.
Use of this collection is subject to the rules concerning access to archival and manuscript collections at Eastern Washington University. For more information, see: http://www.ewu.edu/Library/Services/Archives.xml
Copyright restrictions may apply. For more information or permission to publish, contact Eastern Washington University Libraries, Archives & Special Collections at (509) 359-2475, or archives@ewu.edu
The EWU Library has copies of Saga of a Western Town ... (Call #:F899.S7 K3 ; non-circulating) This Town of Ours ... (Call #:F899.S7 K35 ; non-circulating)
Additional archival collections about Kalez are held by the Washington State University Libraries and the Eastern Washington State Historical Society/Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, Joel E. Ferris Research Library and Archives
Jay J. Kalez Papers; SPC 974-0012; box number; folder number; Archives & Special Collections, Eastern Washington University.
Jay J. Kalez donated this collection in 1974.
The following item was discarded from the collections:
Kalez's correspondence can be divided into three series. Series one contains pieces that reflect his personal life, as well as dealings with magazine publishers who purchased his articles. Series two consists mostly of correspondence with various government agencies that Kalez either worked for or had dealings with during his career. It was originally filed together with various employment papers described separately under group "C". The remaining items consist of the correspondence of Kalez's brother, Dr. Marion M. Kalez, a Spokane physician and surgeon. They were written to Esquire and the Saturday Evening Post in an unsuccessful attempt to sell an article entitled
(in alphabetical order by writer)
(in chronological order)
Discussing the duties he performed during his career, as well as autobiographical information
Covering Kalez 's life and career