McKeel’s Jewelers has recently relocated to downtown Washington, but the store has been in operation for 74 years.

When founder Wallace McKeel left the military at the end of World War II and moved back to Ahoskie, NC, he decided to go to watchmakers school on the GI Bill. After two years there, he and his wife, Burnell, moved back to Ahoskie and opened their store in February 1950. Their son, Wallace ‘Wally’ McKeel Jr, says that in the beginning they just did watch work. "Over time, jewelry became more prevalent. But my father continued to do watch work until the late 60s or early 70s when battery watches became popular."

A true mom & pop business, Wally says that he started working at the store at a very young age, about 11 or 12.

"My mother taught me how to engrave on the engraving machine. I think they paid me three cents per letter. They kept working until their eighties. The store was their life."

His wife, Christine, says that after college, Wally attended gemology school. His younger brother worked at the store as well, until moving to Wilmington in 2016.

When asked what prompted the recent move to Washington, the McKeels say they looked at several towns in eastern NC. Christine says that they have been coming to Washington for years. "We’ve had friends here and have loved coming to see the progress here. Washington is still a small town, but it’s thriving. We love the ‘neighbors helping neighbors’ culture here, and there are amenities close by. The decision to move was really the perfect situation of everything being right, and so we bought a house in March and opened the store here in November."

They say that they opened on November 24th, which was his mom’s birthday, so they thought it was a great tribute to his parents and the family business.

McKeel’s sells all the items you would expect at a fine jewelry store: diamonds, color stones, gold, pearls, chains, rings, special orders, sterling silver, pewter. They also have a line of children’s jewelry.

Christine says that one of the things that is special about their store is that Wally is the only certified gemologist in Washington. He does all of his own work in-house. They also do jewelry repair, including ring sizing, chain repair, stone replacement, appraisals, engravings, watch batteries, band adjustment, pearl restringing, and soldering. "We are so excited to be here to offer fine jewelry and services to Washington."

McKeel’s Jewelers is located at 231 Midtown Lane, behind Wine & Words on Main Street. Their hours are Mon-Fri 10am-5pm. You can reach them by calling 252-940-9207 or go to https://www.facebook.com/mckeelsfinejewelers?mibextid=LQQJ4d.