The Walker-Simpson calendar, 1927
by Tim Campbell · first published 17 July 2017 · his original post
A few years ago I came across the 1927 calendar pictured here which colorfully displays a young barefoot man in overalls courting a young lady wearing a red and white checkered dress. The calendar advertises Walker-Simpson Hardware Store in Blooming Grove, Tx. as well as the McCormick-Deering Company and International Harvester Company. Also sold at the store were 5A Horse Blankets. The careful observer will note the 5A Blanket sign hanging in the store photo. The store carried lanterns, buggies, farm implements, and an assortment of general hardware to serve the needs of a rural community.
John Everett Walker was the "Walker" of Walker-Simpson Hardware. He was born in 1880 in western Navarro County to William and Catherine Walker. William Walker, son of Thomas and Susannah Walker, came from Sugar Creek, Benton County, Arkansas to Texas in the 1870s.
After a brief stint as a school teacher, John Everett Walker married a Blooming Grove girl, Mary Ida Green, who was the daughter of Dr. James Alexander Green. She grew up in the house I now own at 308 S Kerr. John and Mary Ida Walker made their home in Blooming Grove in the house pictured here, which is still standing, located about a block north of Highway 22 on Fordyce Street. John is said to have opened a hardware store in Blooming Grove about 1904.
I think Walker Hardware was located in the row of buildings between what is now the BG City Hall and Armstrong Garage, and their implement yard was out in back of the store where there is now an alley. It may have moved once or twice, based on early maps of the town.
This piece was published without a title. The one above was written here; the words below are his.