Washington Post blog writer Diana Reese features Grandma Gatewood Story

Diana Reese is a writer and blogger for the Washington Post and contributor to “She the People”. She just posted a great article about Grandma Gatewood that you should read. By Diana Reese January 5 at 2:12 PM She The People Grandma Gatewood survived domestic violence to walk the Appalachian Trail alone at 67 Even…

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Grandma Gatewood’s Walk-Wins Award

Ben Montgomery’s book about Grandma has just won the 2014 Outdoor Book Award — I think that means Emma won it , too! Read all about it at http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/outdoors/2014/nov/13/appalachian-trail-tale-tops-2014-outdoor-book-awards/ Appalachian Trail tale tops 2014 Outdoor Book Awards www.spokesman.com OUTDOOR READING — They call her Grandma Gatewood.  She carries an umbrella, wears a checked skirt, and…

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Puffin Foundation West Grant!

We are happy to announce that the Puffin Foundation West has awarded us a grant in support of our documentary about Grandma Gatewood! This gift will go towards the matching requirements from our Ohio History Fund grant and puts us at about the half way point of our goal of $10,000. We have been working…

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Feisty Females- Emma Gatewood

Sharon Hall, a friend of our “Trail Magic” script writer Kelly Boyer Sagert let us know about this great blog site that features her story about Emma Gatewood. Check out Sharon’s article about Emma Gatewood at http://historydepot.wordpress.com/2014/09/12/feisty-females-grandma-gatewood-part-i Enjoy!

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The Smoky Mountain Hiking Blog

We were pleasantly surprised and pleased to see that a story about Emma Gatewood and a clip from our project were on the Smoky Mountain Blog here is an excerpt: Who was Grandma Gatewood? In 1955, after raising 11 children, Emma “Grandma” Gatewood became the first woman to solo thru-hike the Appalachian Trail – at…

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Emma comes to life again on camera!

A special thanks to Anne McEvoy who was able to bring her “Emma” again on our shoot at Historic Lyme Village this past week. DP Tom Whaley of TW Teleproductions provided the talent and gear to capture Emma telling her story once again. Anne’s on-camera persona of Emma is key to our story. We also…

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Nearing the half way point

Our “Trail Magic” documentary on the life of Emma “Grandma” Gatewood has reached a rough cut stage. We are shooting the last re-enactment dialog scenes next week with our wonderful actress Anne McEvoy. If you are an Appalachian Trail hiker or interested in how Emma changed her life after 32 years of domestic abuse get…

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Appalachian History features Bette Lou Higgins review of “Grandma Gatewood’s Walk” by Ben Montgomery

When I was in 11th grade at Garfield Heights Senior High School in Garfield Heights, OH, I had an English teacher – Mr. Toneff. We did quite a bit of writing in his class and Mr. Toneff had a mantra: “V.S.D.!” Vivid Specific Detail… for writing to be good, it had to have V.S.D.

Mr. Toneff would love Ben Montgomery. His new book, Grandma Gatewood’s Walk, has A LOT of V.S.D.

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Ben Montgomery’s new book “Grandma Gatewood’s Walk”

We have followed many of the same trails as Ben as we work on completing the documentary on Emma Gatewood called “Trail Magic”. Emma’s walk not only made her a momentary celebrity, it also focused an emerging post war nation on successful aging, the growth of the AT and the amazing kindness of strangers that continues today.

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Trail Magic Live #3, Hospitality of strangers along the trail

[vimeo 85454603 w=500 h=281] Trail Magic- The hospitality of strangers along the trail from Peter Huston on Vimeo. Emma Gatewood traveled light, was highly self sufficient, and made friends out of strangers were ever she was. This short story included in the live presentation is the essence of what “Trail Magic” is all about. Many…

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