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The third installment in the Kump Education Center series of Elkins History Talks will be presented by this author at 7 p.m. next Wednesday, Nov. 11. I will celebrate military and public service in honor of Veteran's Day.
This presentation will include Kump family history because it is the Elkins family I know best, and Kump family members include two Elkins mayors who served in the 20th Century and City Councilwomen who served in the 21st Century.
Gov. H.G. Kump was the second of four children born to loving parents who survived the Civil War and married late in life. The four Kumps went to one-room schools if a teacher was available.
When Guy finished his last McGuffey Reader, the current teacher left. A member of the local parent committee said, "Now, Guy, you just teach the other students everything you know." H.G. Kump realized then that public education needed standards. That is why he made the county-unit public school system his first priority as governor in 1933.
All the four Kump siblings trained at Shenandoah Normal College and taught school for a few years. The two brothers moved to Romney and worked at the Hampshire County Clerk's Office. Both brothers realized that they needed more education to become lawyers. When Guy passed the standard test to enter UVA Law School, Kerr helped to pay for Guy's UVA law degree completed in 1905. Brother Kerr later went to law school at WVU with Guy's financial help.
Guy Kump found his way to Elkins in 1905 when he was employed at a law firm serving the Davis and Elkins families. Soon, Guy met Edna Scott and they were married in 1907. They reared their six children between 1908 and 1938.
During WWI, H.G. Kump served as one of Wilson's Minute Men in Washington, DC, He was elected to public service as Randolph County Prosecuting Attorney (1909), Mayor of Elkins (1921), Judge of the 20th Circuit Court (1928), and Governor of West Virginia (1933).
My theme of caring service is not only about military service; it is also about public servants who give all citizens a voice in public affairs. American women and people of color are gaining their rights slowly and unequally. The Emancipation Proclamation (1863) and 19th Amendment to the Constitution for Women's Suffrage (1920) were milestones of process in becoming a more perfect union.
Although minorities and women have not been given full economic or political equality yet, the newly elected leaders on November 3, 2026 represent a much more diverse and caring American leadership. They give me HOPE for the future.
Plan to attend Dr. Jim Van Gundy's sequel talk about "Elkins Geological History" on Dec. 9.