W.W. Card House

Wilbur Wade "Cap" Card - Born October 29, 1873 in Franklin County; NC; died September 3,
1948 at home from a stroke. Originally enrolled in Trinity College in 1895 to become a minister,
following a family tradition, Card changed his mind and decided to concentrate on athletics. He
graduated from Trinity with a BA in 1900. He played on the Trinity baseball team as their center
fielder all five years, and was well known for his "splendid physique". He was elected baseball
team captain in 1899, earning him the title of "CAP". He turned down a chance to play major
league baseball with the Boston Braves, and instead entered Harvard in the fall of 1900,
graduating from the Sargent Normal School of Physical Education in 1902. He would later
return to Harvard every summer for 10 years to learn more about physical conditioning and
sports. He was hired by Trinity College as Physical Education Director in 1902. In addition to
basketball, Card introduced volleyball, fencing, field hockey and gymnastics to Trinity College.
He left Duke in 1944 after suffering a severe stroke.

Anna Luella Waldo - Born September 24, 1877 in Norwood, NY; died February 19, 1945 in
Watts Hospital in Durham, the result of a broken hip. She was a prize-winning graduate of the
Detroit Training School of Elocution and English Literature. She was a popular vocalist, singing
in the Duke Memorial Methodist Church choir. Along with music, she loved children, animals
and her garden.

Anna Waldo and Wilbur Card met in New Orleans. "Cap" Card was working at the YMCA in
Mobile, Alabama at the time. He took a trip to New Orleans. Coincidentally, Anna Waldo was
on vacation, also visiting New Orleans during the Marti Gras festival. She was traveling with a
Spanish girlfriend. It was love at first sight for the beautiful woman and a handsome young
gentleman. They were married later that year on December 30, 1902 in Wyoming, OH (near
Cincinnati), where Anna's parents were living.

After they were married, "Cap" and Anna Card lived in an apartment on the Trinity College
campus, not far from their eventual home at 1110 Minerva A venue. He headed up the Trinity
College Physical Education program and introduced the sport of basketball to the campus (and
the state of NC) in 1905, after trying for three years to convince the administration to give their
approval. Trinity's first official game was held March 2, 1906, losing 24-10 to Wake Forest. He
learned of the sport while in summer school at Harvard. He coached the team until 1912, leaving
with an overall record of 30 wins and 17 losses. The PE department was located in the Ark
Building, which still exists. The basketball games took place in that same building. Since the
college didn't have funds to hire someone to move the horizontal bars, ropes, mats, etc., Card did
all the moving of equipment himself. With all the gym equipment moved to the sides of the
building, the games were played. Card had his office in the rear area of the Ark until the new
West Campus was built.

Their first daughter, Elizabeth, was born while the Cards were living in the on-campus
apartment. They continued to live there until late 1910, when they moved into their newly built
home on Minerva, which Card had helped construct. The lot for their new home was purchased
from James B. Duke for $500. They received their electricity at the new home from the Trinity
College power system, along with the other professors and officers of Trinity who lived nearby.

They had no car so they had no garage. Cap could walk to his job on the campus and they had a
neighborhood grocery store where the old Coca Cola plant now stands on Main Street. They
built the existing garage about 1937, before Helen married Oliver. The Cards had a chicken coop
where the existing garage stands, producing fresh eggs and an occasional Sunday dinner.

Each summer, the Cards welcomed Anna's Mother, "Grandma Waldo", and often "Cousin
Lucia", both from Norwood, NY. It was during Card's summer break that he often went "back to
school, attending courses at Harvard, or helping some friends build residences to help earn some
needed income, as Trinity paid him only nine months of the year. These family guests were
likely the reason for the many bedrooms included in the Minerva home. There was plenty of
room for Oliver to join the family residence after marrying Helen in 1938.

Helen and Oliver continued to live there until his death in 2000. Helen lived there by herself
until just before her death in 2004.

Per the Historic Inventory:

"WW Card, the first athletic director of Trinity College, had this substantial two-story frame house constructed around 1910. As one of the earliest houses constructed in Trinity Park, this house for many years was isolated on a very large lot. According to one of the Card daughters, Mrs. Card drew the plans for the house and then her husband hired the contractors to build it. The exterior of the house [....] features plain frieze and cornerboards, Tuscan porch columns, and a trabeated entrance."