M-A-L Hobby Shop - Irving, TX
N 32° 48.826 W 096° 56.231
14S E 693120 N 3632526
An Irving Heritage Society Landmark sign at the M-A-L Hobby Shop at 108 Lee St, Irving, TX provides some history of this hobby store, which is still popular in 2016.
Waymark Code: WMRVF2
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 08/07/2016
Views: 1
The sign says:
Edgar Seay, Sr., opened M-A-L (Model Aircraft Laboratories) Hobby Shop at this location on Lee St. in 1948. Born in Arkansas in 1909, Seay grew up fascinated with airplanes. He carved models and sold his first, the Spirit of St. Louis, in 1927. In 1932, he rode a motorcycle from Arkansas to a Detroit air show, where he took orders from over 400 airplane owners to create scale models of their planes.
In 1935, Seay moved to Dallas to work for Golden Aircraft Corp., a model airplane company. Here he learned to cut balsa wood, a skill he used for the rest of his career. He also worked at Dallas Aviation School at Love Field, where he trained civilians and Air Corps cadets in flight theory and aircraft maintenance. Seay married Mildred Taylor in 1938.
After WWII, Seay continued to create models. His balsa wood glider and rubber-band-powered planes were very popular. The Seay family moved to Irving in 1948 and opened the hobby shop. Mildred ran the store during the day for ten years while Edgar worked nights at Chance Vought.
For decades Edgar Seay cut balsa wood and made kits under his M-A-L brand. From this site, M-A-L Hobby Shop has catered to generations of model aircraft enthusiasts.
City of Irving
Irving Heritage Society 2011