Finding Historical Footage

I am in search of footage of Emma “Grandma” Gatewood. She became part of our American folklore for being the very first person, and a woman of 67 years of age, to solo “through hike” in one season the 2168 miles of the Appalachian Trail from Mt. Oglethorpe Georgia, to Mt Katahdin, Maine in 1955. She did two more times in 1960 and 1963.

She was featured in the August 15th, 1955 issue of Sports Illustrated as she made her way north.

Afterword completing her first through hike in 1955, she appeared on the Today Show on October 5th, the same day the Brooklyn Dodgers were on, after defeating the New York Yankees in the 1955 World Series in 7 games.

She was on the Dave Garroway “Wide, wide world” Show during this period of time. Much of this was released not to long ago as a “best of”

She also may have appeared on the Steve Allen Show on NBC during those same days in NYC.

In 1959, at the age 71 she hiked 2,000 miles of the Oregon Trail from Independence Missouri to Portland Oregon, when she arrived at the Oregon Centennial Celebration in early June she was honored on or about June 10th.
This was “Grandma Gatewood Day” at the Centennial Celebration (Like to be in the Portland “Oregonian” news paper.) She then appeared on the Art Linkletter’s “People are Funny” Show or Art Linkletter’s “House Party” aka “The Linkletter Show” and the Groucho Marx’s “You bet your Life” both most likely recorded in Hollywood. I know the Groucho segment is in a consumer released “best of” DVD package.

Any footage of the Oregon Centennial (June-August, 1959) might be helpful too.

If you know about any of the following clips or perhaps have still photos please give me a call or send an email.

2 Comments

  1. Margaret Anne haskell on April 28, 2022 at 2:46 am

    Surely there has to be a video of Grandma Emma Gatewood ‘s appearance on the TODAY SHOW ( DAVE GARROWAY) in one of the television archives. About 1955 or shortly after.

  2. hiddenarts on April 28, 2022 at 4:48 pm

    I sent you an email too. We looked quite extensively through NBC archives with no luck.The only other possible source might be her 1960 appearance on the Art Linkletter Show after she hiked the Oregon Trail. Groucho Marx “You bet your life” was the one show that she is featured on that we used. Later in her life, the early 1970s, she may have been on local TV in Ohio when her trail loop attached to the Buckeye Trail opened.

Leave a Comment