Emma’s Story

Emma Gatewood set the standard for women, hikers and people from Appalachia. This is a wonderful story of courage that emerges from a quiet, albeit culturally different time when women were not often so likely to venture forth, or take on such amazing feats. Emma’s conquest of the Appalachian Trail in 1955 is a testament to her self-confidence, resilience, and determination. And her success stems from lessons learned from a rural way of life that is almost forgotten today.

We are actively looking for partners and support in order to complete the documentary we have started with Lucy Seeds about her mother Emma “Grandma” Gatewood. The project has been tentatively named “Emma Gatewood, An Appalachian Tale”. We received a small planning grant from the Ohio Humanities Council and the National Storytelling Network to fund going to visit Lucy Seeds and interview her on camera. Some short clips of those interviews can be found on this site. We encourage you to watch and comment on the stories Lucy shared with us. Help us to complete this important film about Emma’s amazing feat in 1955.