Joyce Clyde Hall an American businessman, was the founder of Hallmark Cards

Hallmark Cards

Hallmark Cards is a privately owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 by Joyce C. Hall, Hallmark is the largest manufacturer of greeting cards in the United States. In 1985, the company was awarded the National Medal of Arts....

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Biography

Born in David City, Nebraska

David City, Nebraska

David City is a city in Butler County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 2,597 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Butler County.-Geography:David City is located at ....

, the son of Frank Dudley Houston and George Nelson Hall, a minister, Hall worked odd jobs, mostly involving sales, from age 8 on to supplement the meager income of his father. Hall's response to his father's mantra, "the Lord will provide," was, "It's a good idea to give the Lord a little help." By the time he was a teenager, Hall's father abandoned the family. In 1905, Hall and his brothers invested US$150 to buy picture postcards to sell to the salesmen who were impressed with the young businessman and who also sold the books to the shop where Hall was currently working. He conceived the Norfolk Post Card Company in 1908 in Norfolk, Nebraska

Norfolk, Nebraska

Norfolk is a city in Madison County, Nebraska, United States, 113 miles northwest of Omaha and 83 miles west of Sioux City at the intersection of U.S. Routes 81 and 275. The population was 24,210 at the 2010 census, making it the ninth-largest city in Nebraska. It is the principal city of the...

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In 1910, Hall moved to Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...

, with little more than two shoe boxes of postcards. By 1913, he and his brothers were operating a store (which would eventually evolve into Kansas City's Halls

Halls (department store)

Halls is the department store division of Kansas City, Missouri-based Hallmark Cards, consisting of two specialty department store locations — one adjoining Hallmark corporate headquarters and downtown Kansas City in the city's Crown Center commercial complex, the other in the city's high-end...

 department store) selling not only postcards but also greeting cards. The store burned in 1915, and a year later, Hall bought an engraving business and began printing his own cards, which he marketed under the Hallmark brand name. It turned into a bigger business than he had had before.

Hall, who objected to the name Joyce and typically went by "J.C.," retired in 1966 and spent his retirement in efforts to revitalize the Kansas City

Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...

 downtown area. One of the results was Crown Center

Crown Center

Crown Center is a commercial complex and neighborhood located near Downtown Kansas City, Missouri located between Gillham Road and Grand Boulevard to the east and west, and between Pershing Boulevard and Union Hill to the north and south. The shopping center is anchored by Halls, a department store...

, a combination business/shopping district surrounding the Hallmark corporate headquarters. Hall died in 1982 in Kansas City.