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Start Over Collection Garnie Walker Testa Papers and Walker-Testa Family Genealogy Date range 1981

A Twig from the Walker Tree, written and compiled by Garnie Walker Testa Box 7, Folder 1

During the 1980s, Garnie Walker Testa researched her family tree as best she could, with the occasional help of others, including her youngest brother, Leonard O. Walker. The connection made between Joel Walker/Jane Cavendish is an error.

  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center
  2. Garnie Walker Testa Papers and Walker-Testa Family Genealogy
  3. Series 1. Garnie Walker Testa Papers
  4. Walker-Testa Family Genealogy

Education

This subseries includes materials related to Walker's education in Clay County schools and her secondary education to become a teacher. She earned her teaching certificate from Glenville State Teachers College in 1934, her bachelor's degree at Marshall College in 1940 and her master's degree at West Virginia University in 1942. Includes academic textbooks, photographs of Walker with school friends and in graduation regalia, correspondence, and a copy of her master's thesis.

  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center
  2. Garnie Walker Testa Papers and Walker-Testa Family Genealogy
  3. Series 1. Garnie Walker Testa Papers

Garnie Walker Testa Papers and Walker-Testa Family Genealogy 9.88 Linear Feet 9 ft. 10 1/2 in. (1 document case, 5 in.; 1 document case, 2.5 in.; 7 record cartons, 15 in. each; 1 flat storage box, 5 in.; 1 oversize folder, 0.1 in.; 1 framed cirkut photograph, 1 in.) 856 Megabytes 682 assorted .tiff, .docx, .jpg, .wps, .odt, .pptx, and .pdf files

Testa, Garnie Walker, 1914-1999

Includes the papers of Garnie Wilma Walker Testa (1914-1999) and genealogical research about the Walker-Testa family. The papers include material retained from her high school, college, and graduate school years, like graduation photographs and academic texts – all in Series 1 Subseries 1. The collection also includes documentation of her military service in the Army during World War II, featuring items like field guides for military procedures, photographs of herself and peers in uniform, and travel books acquired while serving internationally – all in Series 1 Subseries 2. There are materials from Walker Testa's time as a teacher in Kanawha and Clay Counties, West Virginia, like certificates commemorating her work and books used in the classroom – all in Series 1 Subseries 3. A copy of Walker Testa's historical survey of education in Clay County, The Ringing of the Bells: A Bicentennial History of Education in Clay County, West Virginia, and other items related to the book's production are featured, including some digital material – all in Series 1 Subseries 4. Additionally, there is genealogical research material that explores her life and her family's lineage through material like descendant charts, biographical sketches, and old family photographs – all in Series 1 Subseries 5 and the collection's addendum of 2025.

  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

Letters by Garnie Walker Testa to her family with related photographs Box 7, Folder 5

Photographs feature Garnie Walker Testa's farm, taken by Karen J. Walker. 1: Open gate, Barn on right. Camera is facing north/NE. On the hilltop in center of photo, under the trees, is the old Lyons cemetery, identified on maps as the Cherrytree Cemetery. The visible farm road leads up and on around to the right toward the other trees. In this area is the "new" Walker Cemetery where Albert and Ollie Walker and are buried. And in 1999, where Garnie Walker Testa was also buried, alongside Carmelo. 2: Lower portion of the same barn seen in previous photo. 3: Mountaintop farm view with a fence, pasture, and one of Garnie's cows. (Cherrytree Cemetery is named for Cherrytree Run/Fork which is beyond view and runs into Rush Fork). 4: Another view of the barn with outbuildings on the left and the house to the right near the evergreen trees. Color images were taken in 1982 by Bruce C. Walker, which feature the old farm, located below Garnie Walker Testa's ridgetop home (still within the 221 acres). It is down at the head of Laurel Run which flows into the Big Otter and on to the Elk River. There were other outbuildings not shown in these photos. K. J. Walker, her brothers and cousins, including Garnie's daughter Rosalia, are currently working to document this older farm.

  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center
  2. Garnie Walker Testa Papers and Walker-Testa Family Genealogy
  3. Series 1. Garnie Walker Testa Papers
  4. Walker-Testa Family Genealogy

Military Service

This subseries includes materials related to Garnie Walker's military service. She enlisted in the US Women's Army Corps in 1944. There are several photographs of Walker in military uniform, of her and friends in the service, and of Carmelo Testa, whom she married in 1949. There are several guides that would have been issued to Walker while in the service and several commemorative books written after the war ended, including an excerpt written by Garnie Walker Testa for a publication highlighting Clay County WWII veterans. These materials also document Garnie Walker and Carmelo Testa's travels with the military, including postcards and photographs from around Europe. A large assortment of travel guides, language learning books, and other books about the history and culture of countries in continental Europe, the British Isles, Scandinavia, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia are also included.

  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center
  2. Garnie Walker Testa Papers and Walker-Testa Family Genealogy
  3. Series 1. Garnie Walker Testa Papers

Series 1. Garnie Walker Testa Papers

This series includes Walker Testa's personal and professional papers retained throughout her life. It includes material from her education at Glenville State Teachers College, Marshall College and West Viriginia University, documentation of her military service in the US Women's Army Corps, items from her 30+ years of service as a teacher in Clay and Kanawha County schools, material related to the research, writing, and publication of her book on the history of education in Clay County, and an assortment of genealogical research material compiled by and about Walker Testa.

  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center
  2. Garnie Walker Testa Papers and Walker-Testa Family Genealogy

The Ringing of the Bells: A Bicentennial History of Education in Clay County, West Virginia

This subseries includes materials related to the development and production of The Ringing of the Bells: A Bicentennial History of Education in Clay County, West Virginia. This book is an expansion of Walker Testa's master's thesis, but most of the expanded research and writing was done in the 1970s and early 1980s. From the 2010s to 2020, Karen J. Walker worked with the Clay County Historical Society to edit, publish, and distribute the book. A small portion of Walker Testa's original research material, like maps and an unfinished manuscript copy of the book are included. Related items are included in digital format, like teacher biographies and supporting photographs. There are also items created during the process of editing, printing, and publicizing the book -- both paper and digital. Lastly, there is a completed, bound copy of the book.

  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center
  2. Garnie Walker Testa Papers and Walker-Testa Family Genealogy
  3. Series 1. Garnie Walker Testa Papers

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