Walter W. Walk built his life right here in Carbon County.

Walk was born on March 18, 1919 in what is now considered Palmerton, in the farmhouse on his grandfather’s estate. At 15, Walk stopped attending school to lend a hand on the family farm, and to start working part time at another farm on Little Gap Road.

“He had to work to help the family,” Carol Borger, Walk’s daughter, said.

When he was old enough, Walk got a job at the New Jersey Zinc Company. Borger said her father wore many different hats over the course of his career there, which spanned decades.

In 1941, Walk married his first wife Margaret, who was from Aquashicola. They had two children: Borger and her late sister, Geraldine VanBuskirk.

Walk retired from the Zinc company in 1981. For the next 12 years, he and Margaret split their time between Florida and Lake Wallenpaupack, located in northeastern Pennsylvania.

“Fishing was his number one thing he loved, and then hunting,” Borger said.

Another one of Walk’s favorite pastimes was spending time with his grandchildren. In fact, Borger said, Walk always knew how to entertain a group of kids.  

“When I was young, he used to get the local kids together,” she said. “We used to walk on the Appalachian Trail.

“He did a lot with the kids.”    

After Margaret died in 1993, Walk stopped going to Lake Wallenpaupack. He remarried his current wife, Betty, in 1995 and moved to Danielsville. In 2017, Walk moved into the Mahoning Valley Nursing & Rehabilitation Center.

On Monday, March 18, Walk hit triple digits. He and his family celebrated the milestone together on Sunday. Walk even wore a hat bearing the title “World’s Most Awesome 100-year-old” to ring in the occasion.

As for the secret to a long life, Borger says her father’s grit is the key to his longevity. Walk toiled his whole life. He juggled two - and sometimes three - jobs at a time. He and Margaret raised a family. And in 1950, he built his home on Little Gap Road from the ground up.   

“He worked hard all his life,” Borger, who lives in the home to this day, said.

Caption:

Walter W. Walk turns 100-years-old today. He spent the weekend celebrating the occasion surrounded by family. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO