Getting a jump on the competition is the only way to survive in this world, and Charles Walker`s memorial to those who do it best has reached a milestone.
The world we`re talking about is checkers, and Walker`s creation is the International Checker Hall of Fame.
Walker opened this checker mecca-a place once called a ”virtual parthenon of checkers”-on Memorial Day weekend, 1979.
Ever since, his officially recognized home square of checker greatness has been paying homage to the one game in which getting crowned in the heat of battle is something to look forward to.
Now a yearlong series of tournaments is marking the hall`s first decade, including a couple of world championship matches. But how did this shrine come to be located in this teeny South Mississippi town?
Basically because of money.
”I was probably the only one financially able to do it,” Walker says of his $100,000 shrine.
A native of neighboring Hattiesburg, the 54-year-old Walker made his fortune in the insurance business. He also is running for mayor in next month`s city elections.
But no matter how many irons he has in the fire, Walker says he will always have time for the game he learned from his father-in-law while sitting on the porch waiting for his future wife to get ready for dates.
The idea for the Hall of Fame came much later. ”A friend asked me one day, `Charles, where`s the checker hall of fame? Baseball and football have one, where`s the one for checkers?` ”
Walker said he started thinking about it and realized that, why, there wasn`t one. So he built one. Boy, did he build one.
The Hall is a wing of Chateau Walker, Walker`s 20-acre tudor-style estate nestled in the woods here. It boasts a seven-story tower with guest rooms and an observatory of sorts on top, a checker library and a gallery fit for a king.
The floor is a 16-square-foot regulation green-and-white checker board. Circular red and white pillows serve as the pieces. A third party, using the floor and pillows, can simulate moves of a real game in progress in the gallery, allowing spectators on the balcony to watch a game without peering over the players` shoulders.
There is also a collection of paintings, old Bibles and other odds and ends that have nothing to do with checkers. But never mind: The Hall is recognized by the American Checker Federation.
Walker, by the way, happens to be the ACF`s first vice-president in charge of promotions and public relations.
After 10 years, the unique attractions at the Hall-”It`s more or less a place to accumulate,” says Walker-continue to draw checker fans and the just plain curious. He estimates 2,000 or so people a year sign the guest book during visiting hours, 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.; 7 p.m. during tournaments. There is no admission fee.
That kind of attention has to be good for this town of roughly 8,500 residents located 290 miles south of Memphis.
”It (the museum) has really put Petal on the map,” claims Walker, a real Petal-pusher who says his desire to promote anything that`ll help the town ought to help get him elected mayor.
Interest in the Hall is sure to be keen this year in particular, as tournaments go on throughout the year for checker buffs at every level. There are amateur tournaments for senior citizens, high school students and Boy Scouts.
Then the pros move in. The World Championship ”Go-As-You-Please” match between checker greats Don Lafferty and Elbert Lowder is set for May 29-June 3. That will be followed June 4-17 by the World Championship ”3-Move” match between Marion Tinsley and Paul Davis, two more who routinely jump people and get away with it.
”Go-As-You-Please” is the kind of checkers most people are familiar with: Each player moves one piece alternately. In ”3-Move” checkers, players make three moves at a time.
Checkers isn`t just a way to pass time, says Walker; it`s an analytical game that can sharpen the thought processes. ”The mind is like a computer,” says Walker. ”It doesn`t care what the problem is, it solves it the same way. ”Checkers is a scientific game. If somebody makes a mistake and you make the right moves, it might be 50 moves later but you`ll win.”
