Melvin's Bedroom

The 1922 expansion of the Walker home also brought the addition of two large bedrooms to the rear of the house. These rooms served as a semi-independent wing for Walker’s youngest son and his family. Melvin and his wife, Ethel, lived in a spacious bedroom with massive Empire furniture including a mahogany-stained sleigh bed and matching armoire. Their son, Armstead, kept his bed in the attached sun porch, while their two daughters shared a full-sized bedroom. Melvin, who worked at various times in his life for the St. Luke Emporium, the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank, and the Independent Order of St. Luke, was always close to his mother except his four years at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina. He remained living in the house after his divorce (a rarity in 1928) when his wife moved out with their three children.