Sam Walton’s Office
Visiting the Walmart Visitor’s Center Museum struck a chord with me. I try not to be too sentimental about the past. I try to focus on what’s ahead of me.
So I was surprised at how Sam Walton’s office in this museum affected me. It appears just as he left it before his death in 1992. This man built the world’s largest retail company over his lifetime. You’d think his office would feature photos with princes and presidents. You might look for an expensive wine or a Cartier paperweight. Those things are not there.
That’s because Sam Walton was a bird hunter. All you have to do is look at his office to know that. Wood-paneled walls that went out of style in the 1970s surround a big desk and credenza. Above that credenza, in the most prominent place in this office, is a painting of Sam Walton in the field with two of his dogs.
To many people that means little, but to me it was like going home. My father was a bird hunter and was happiest when he was with his dogs. This was how I remember his office.
Walton’s pickup truck is also there, along with a photo of him in the truck with one of his dogs. He must have found the time to build Walmart when he wasn’t hunting.
http://corporate.walmart.com/our-story/heritage/visitor-center
