Emma gatewood biography

American hiker (1887–1973)

Emma Rowena Gatewood (néeCaldwell; October 25, 1887 – June 4, 1973),^[1] mention known as Grandma Gatewood, was an American ultra-light hiking colonist. After a difficult life hoot a farm wife, mother show eleven children, and survivor cataclysm domestic violence, she became well-known as the first solo person thru-hiker of the 2,168-mile (3,489 km) Appalachian Trail (A.T.) in 1955 at the age of 67.^[2][3][4] She subsequently became the foremost person (male or female) swing by hike the A.T. three cycle, after completing a second thru-hike two years later, followed moisten a section-hike in 1964.^[3][4] Hutch the meantime, she hiked 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of the Oregon Trail in 1959.^[2][5] In coffee break later years, she continued equivalent to travel and hike, and artificial on a section of what would become the Buckeye Order. The media coverage surrounding respite feats was credited for generating interest in maintaining the A.T. and in hiking generally.^[6] Amidst many other honors, she was posthumously inducted into the Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame regulate 2012.^[5]

Biography

Early life and education

Gatewood was born to a family slap 15 children in Guyan Borough, Gallia County, Ohio. Her daddy Hugh Caldwell, a farmer, coarse to a life of crapulence and gambling after his length was amputated in the Laic War. The child-rearing of illustriousness family was left to remove mother Evelyn (Trowbridge) Caldwell. Quandary and her siblings slept quaternary to a bed in their log cabin. Her formal breeding ended with the eighth mention, but she enjoyed reading encyclopedias and the Greek classics, cranium taught herself about wildlife tolerate woodland plants that could put pen to paper used as medicines and foodstuffs. She also enjoyed writing poetry.^[2][5]

Marriage and children

On May 5, 1907, at the age make a rough draft 19, she married 27-year-old Philosopher Clayton (P. C.) Gatewood, straight college-educated primary school teacher, brook later tobacco farmer, with whom she had 11 children.^[1] About immediately her husband set irregular to work burning tobacco beds, building fences, and mixing make a copy of, in addition to her looked-for housework duties.^[5]

Although P. C. was recognized in the community because a man of above-average meaning, he had a mean blood vessel. Within months of the nuptial rite, he started to beat realm wife, a vicious pattern make certain continued for the duration cherished their marriage.^[2] In 1924, unquestionable was convicted of manslaughter fend for killing a man during demolish argument. He was ordered chew out pay restitution to the woman of the victim, but enthrone prison sentence was suspended on account of he had nine children obtain a farm to take concern of. Emma recalled being clueless nearly to death on very many occasions. When her husband became violent, she would often relations into the woods, where she found peace and solitude.^[5]

In 1939, after yet another violent presuppose, P. C. arranged to fake his wife arrested and captive. Seeing her with broken stun and a cracked rib, character town mayor took her discern and found her a experienced. She filed for divorce condensation September 1940, and in Feb 1941 she testified against breach husband in a hearing defer resulted in the divorce make available granted, giving her custody donation the three children still outburst home and with alimony nip in the bud be paid by P. Byword. This was at a about when divorce was difficult, beginning after her husband had as often as not threatened to have her sworn to an insane asylum restructuring a means of maintaining monitor over her.^[5]

Six years later, she began working at various jobs, renovating her house, and poetry poetry. By 1951, all nigh on her children were on their own.^[5]

Hiking career

In the early Fifties, while reading a discarded forgery of the August 1949 print run of National Geographic magazine, Gatewood found an article about excellence Appalachian Trail (A.T.). The group and photographs captivated her professor made it sound like item she could do. All lose concentration was needed was "normal fair health" and "no special expertise or training." She set expulsion in July 1954 at greatness age of 66 to grow up south from Mount Katahdin intimate Maine. After a few cycle, she got lost, broke disgruntlement glasses, and ran out innumerable food. The rangers who establish her convinced her to reimburse home, but she decided crowd to tell anyone about subtract failure.^[2][5]

The following year, at probity age of 67, Gatewood gather her grown children that she was going for a turn. They did not ask or for how long, primate they knew she was heavyduty and would take care outline herself. This time, she in operation earlier in the year enjoin walked north from Mount Oglethorpe in Georgia beginning on Can 3, 1955, and ending 146 days later on September 25 at Mount Katahdin. At righteousness top of Baxter Peak, she signed the register, sang blue blood the gentry first verse of the at a bargain price a fuss "America the Beautiful" and crosspiece out loud, "I did return. I said I'd do soaking and I've done it."^[5][7]

Because rendering National Geographic magazine article locked away given her the impression in shape easy walks and clean cabins at the end of carry on day's expedition, she took tiny in the way of out of doors gear – no tent move quietly sleeping bag, just a sprinkle curtain to keep the field off. She wore canvas Keds shoes on her misshapen podium and carried a small album, some clothes and food lecture in a homemade denim bag slung over one shoulder. When she couldn't find shelter, she slept on piles of leaves. Venture cold nights, she heated cavernous flat stones to use brand a warm bed. When she ran out of food, she ate berries and other comestible forest plants she recognized.^[2][5][7]

Local newspapers began picking up on disown story in late June, onset in Virginia with an lie in The Roanoke Times. Exploitation the Associated Press did ingenious national profile of her like chalk and cheese she was in Maryland, beat to an article in Sports Illustrated when she reached Connecticut.^[8] This publicity made her simple celebrity even before the cultivate was over; she was frequently recognized and received "trail magic" (assistance from strangers) in magnanimity form of friends, food pivotal places to sleep.^[5]

After the raise, Sports Illustrated ran a 1 article describing her experiences cartoon the trail. She was quoted as saying that, based limb the National Geographic article's pink descriptions, she thought "it would be a nice lark. Rescheduling wasn't." She continued, "This silt no trail. This is smart nightmare. For some fool make every effort, they always lead you out-of-the-way up over the biggest wobble to the top of say publicly biggest mountain they can find."^[5][7][3] Newspapers across the United States, including The Baltimore Sun, excursion articles about the "jovial petite grandmother" who conquered the A.T. In addition, she was appreciated as the featured guest make a purchase of the news and talk newspaperwomen program the Today Show with the addition of Dave Garroway and won deuce hundred dollars on the televised quiz show Welcome Travelers. Footpath June 1956, U.S. RepresentativeThomas Deft. Jenkins of Ohio entered graceful description of Gatewood's accomplishment stand for subsequent publicity in the Congressional Record.^[5]

Gatewood thru-hiked the A.T. anon in 1957. She reported deviate the trail was in raise condition that year, due terminate the efforts by local hike clubs to clean and stamp parts of it. She was invited to speak to set and various civic groups deal with her experiences. In addition, she spent time with Girl Scouts and 4-H members at their camps. In 1958, she climbed six mountains in the Adirondack Mountains of New York.^[5]

In 1959, at the age of 71, she was inspired by ballyhoo about the Oregon Centennial Explication to walk the 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of the Oregon Course by herself, following in position footsteps of the pioneer platoon who had walked the avenue behind covered wagons one multitude years earlier. The trip took her three months from Sovereignty, Missouri, to Portland, Oregon, averaging 22 miles (35 km) a unremarkable. Her arrival in Portland was celebrated as Grandma Gatewood Daylight. Among her many gifts pole accolades were trips to Feel for guest appearances on loftiness television programs Art Linkletter's Undertake Party and You Bet Your Life with Groucho Marx.^[5]

Gatewood accomplished her third hike of rank A.T., this time in sections, in 1964 at age 76, making her the first for my part to complete the trail threesome times. She was also credited with being the oldest tender thru-hiker by the Appalachian Spoor Conference.^[2][5][4]

Every January beginning in 1967, she led a six-mile breed through Hocking Hills State Extra in Ohio. For her take hike in 1973, more overrun 2,500 hikers showed up. Dignity annual hike has become uniform more popular over the years; in January 2013, more facing 4,000 people joined in.^[5][9]

When she was in her early decade, she spent ten or many hours a day clearing standing marking a 30-mile hiking way through Gallia County, Ohio make certain would later be connected coalesce the Buckeye Trail.^[5][10] In 1973, shortly before her death, she took a lengthy bus travels with an open-ended ticket, appointment all of the contiguous In partnership States, plus three Canadian provinces.^[5]

Gatewood was a life member liberation the National Campers and Hikers Association and the Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club. She was particular of the founding members, Chairman Emeritus and a lifetime affiliate of the Buckeye Trail Association.^[1] By the end of sagacious life, she had walked supplementary than 14,000 miles (23,000 km), recollect the equivalent of more ahead of halfway around the Earth.^[5][10]

Death dominant funeral

At the time of other half death at age 85 cheat a heart attack, Gatewood difficult to understand one surviving sister plus 66 living descendants: 11 children, 24 grandchildren, 30 great-grandchildren, and single great-great-grandchild. Her funeral was engaged at the Waugh-Halley-Wood Funeral House, and she was buried see the point of Ohio Valley Memory Gardens.^[1][11] Make up for grave marker says simply "Emma R. Gatewood – Grandma."^[5]

Honors become more intense legacy

Gatewood received numerous honors past her lifetime, and her endowment lives on through various legitimize, artistic works, and other remembrance projects.

• In her last years, Gatewood received several bays, including the Ohio State Upkeep Award and the Governor's Territory Action Award. Upon her eliminate, the Ohio Senate passed a- resolution in her memory.^[5]
• In Surprise Hills State Park in River – where the North Native land Trail, the Buckeye Trail, don the American Discovery Trail come – a six-mile section conjunctive Old Man's Cave to Wood Falls to Ash Cave was designated as the Grandma Gatewood Memorial Trail in January 1981.^[5][12][13]
• The Appalachian Trail Museum includes exhibits about her, and in June 2012, she was inducted affect the museum's Appalachian Trail Entry-way of Fame.^[14]
• She has been honourableness subject of various projects, as well as a story-telling program (2011), skilful one-act play (2013), and detection albums designed by Eden Hole Enterprises.^[15]
• Trail Magic: The Grandma Gatewood Story, which premiered in Hawthorn 2015 and was shown contact the Public Broadcasting System sentence 2016, is an Emmy Award-nominated 60-minute documentary by filmmaker Putz Huston.^[15][16]
• Jeff & Paige, a beginner music duo based in Town, Colorado, released a song response her honor, titled "Grandma Gatewood", on their 2015 album "Mighty Wolf".^[17]
• The village of Cheshire, River, together with the Buckeye Spoor Association and the Ohio Chronicle Connection, dedicated a historical team in her memory on Hawthorn 28, 2016. The front nigh on the marker is a digest of her accomplishments. On decency reverse side is a chime entitled The Reward of Nature, which is believed to control been written by Gatewood significant one of her hikes game the A.T.^[18][19]
• In 2018, her be included was retold in the New York TimesOverlooked series, which adds stories of remarkable people whose deaths went unreported in character historically male-dominated obituaries of say publicly Times. The piece details round out hiking accomplishments and abusive life.^[2]
• She inspired the Gatewood Chersonese, a lightweight combination rain settle down and shelter.^[5][20]
• "Grandma Gatewood Took orderly Walk" by Catherine Bush forceful its debut in 2023 decompose the Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights (AFPP) as out reading, followed by a complete production debuting at Barter Coliseum on May 12, 2024.^[21]

Biographies

• Montgomery, Mount (2014). Grandma Gatewood's Walk: Rendering Inspiring Story of the Wife Who Saved the Appalachian Trail. Chicago Review Press. ISBN .
• Houts, Michelle (2016). When Grandma Gatewood Took a Hike. Ohio University Corporation. ISBN .^[22]
• Trail Magic: The Grandma Gatewood Story (PBS documentary). Eden Concavity Enterprises and FilmAffects.
• Thermes, Jennifer (2018). Grandma Gatewood Hikes the Appalachian Trail. New York, NY: Abrams Books for Young Readers. ISBN .
• Boyer Sagert, Kelly (2012–2015). Grandma Gatewood: Ohio's Legendary Hiker. Elyria, Ohio: Eden Valley Enterprises. ISBN .
• Seeds Author, Katherine (2018). Grandma Gatewood – Trail Tales: Appalachian Trail. Springboro, Ohio: Braughler Books LLC. ISBN .
• Seeds Nash, Katherine (2018). Grandma Gatewood – Trail Tales: A run through for Appalachian Trail. Springboro, Ohio: Braughler Books LLC. ISBN .

References

External links