It all starts with one person taking a chance. In 1954, Ethelyn Kaplan, a single mother, defied the conventions of 1950s America—packing up her family and heading west to realize the dream of opening her own toy store. Soon after Ethelyn set up shop in Northern California, educators began calling her for supplies, and Ethelyn discovered a higher purpose—serving teachers. Two generations later, Lakeshore remains true to Ethelyn’s founding principle of always listening to the customer—our guiding light as we strive to meet the needs of educators, schools and districts nationwide.