One key moment surfaced for Zale when he thought back on the pivotal moment that altered his educational course. One autumn morning, during his ninth-grade year at Berne Union High School, he worked on the crop harvest and stopped the tractor, called for his dad, and mentioned he needed to stop to prepare for his studies at school. His father looked back and stated, “Today’s the day you quit school son. We need to get this crop harvested. You’ll never step foot back in school again.” The young Zale watched his father’s truth unfold throughout his years as that statement materialized. Once the family finished and harvested the crop for the season, Zale continued to labor on the farm until a position opened up at the local sawmill down the street from his house. Henry Kilbarger gave Zale his first job away from the house, and before he grew into an adult he took jobs as a log bearer, logger, and lumberman.

Zale pointed back to his younger years running in the streets of Columbus and how a young African American man influenced his life as he showed Zale respect and welcomed him into his home. Zale also contributes his life to the influence of a school teacher from those days in the German Village school on Becks Street. During those years, Zale hiked six blocks to school and remained there for five or six hours until he began the trek back home. Before he and his friends made the journey, however, they stopped at the ice cream stand a block down from where the school sat and received their free ice cream cone everyday before they journeyed home.

Another fond memory Zale harbors reflected on the time he spent with Grandpa Boerner, Albert Boerner. They traveled to the Scioto River every weekend to fish where they caught large carpe from their own homemade dough ball bait. They hiked seven to nine blocks to his house and seven or eight blocks further toward the river where they fished for four to five hours at a time. His mom and Grandma Kennedy were exceptional cooks and worked countless hours in the kitchen as they prepared food for the family. Zale remembers the bread, rolls, and the cinnamon rolls vividly.

As a skilled molder, Zales’s father served as a cook in the U.S. Army during World War II and ranked as a Private after he enlisted on Saturday, August 12, 1944, in Fort Hayes, Columbus, Ohio. Zale remembers his mother taking him on a train to go visit his father during his time stationed in Louisiana.

Another event surfaced as Zale reminisced on his life when he purchased his first shot gun at 16 years old – a JC Higgins 5 shot automatic – and even though he explained it was not the best gun at the time, it was good enough for him and his squirrel hunts. Before getting ready to start his school days at the Berne Union High School, he engaged in hours of hunting squirrels to the point he missed the bus numerous times, and that meant he had to hike 3.5 miles. He remembered his mother coming outside and scolding him for missing the bus, point to the road, and said, “There it is,” demanding Zale start his journey to school on foot.

Zale met Linda at the bar her parents owned, the Club Alpine Bar in Sugar Grove. He mentioned they first partied, dated, and then eventually tied the knot. Zale exclaimed the day he married Linda Young was the happiest day of his life. They ended up in Lancaster as Linda’s parents owned a rental property, and instead of putting it up for sale, they sold it to Zale and Linda at a price Zale could not ignore.

Zale and Linda began their family upon the birth of Zale Kennedy IV, born on Wednesday, November 25, 1964, at the Lancaster-Fairfield County Hospital. The young mother and her newborn were discharged on Monday, November 30, 1964. A little over four years later, Linda gave birth to their daughter, Michelle Lee, born on Monday, January 20, 1969, also at the Lancaster-Fairfield County Hospital. The two of them were discharged on Friday, January 24, 1969.

As Zale never wanted to continue in his father’s footsteps with the farm life, due to the seven day demand and workload, he gained a position at the Poulton Foundry, at 1071 West Gooddale, in 1963, after his brother Bill joined first. Their father, Zale II, was their boss, making this the second time he worked for his father. He worked as a molder and although it demanded hard work, he overall enjoyed the job. As a result of his career, Zale interprets his success at the point when he became the supervisor of the whole foundry plant for his last five years employed there, before he left after working a total of thirty-three years. Zale later went to work at the local hospital for four years as a member of the night cleaning crew as he could not pass up the benefits it offered. After four years, Linda was able to secure better benefits when she worked at a local dentist office and Zale passed the mark for retirement and never looked back.