GRANDMA GATEWOOD: OHIO'S LEGENDARY HIKER
The Whole Story!

Grandma Emma Gatewood was the first woman to solo thru-hike the Appalachian Trail in 1955 at the age of 67 after raising 11 children and surviving domestic abuse! Before she died in 1973 she had hiked the AT several times, completed hikes in Oregon, Vermont and Pennsylvania. She was a charter member of the Buckeye Trail Association. Eden Valley and FilmAffects have teamed up to tell her story.

Be sure to keep up with all the news about a Grandma Gatewood statue in the works for placement at her gravesite and on the Appalachian Trail!

A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who voted for Artistic Director, Bette Lou Higgins, for the Women's Storytelling Contest for 2023. You helped get her to the festival to keep Grandma Gatewood's memory alive! The festival was a wonderful event and a great place to tell Emma's story -- right by the AT. Thank you to everyone who attended in person of virtually and to all who voted for Grandma's story!

Miriam Nadel wrote a wonderful "review" of the festival.

For those of you who were unable to attend the festival, please enjoy the video:

TELLING THE STORY

November, 2011 premiere of the storytelling program -- GRANDMA GATEWOOD: OHIO'S LEGENDARY HIKER.

August, 2013 premiere of a one-act play -- Emma Gatewood, Are You Out Of Your Bloomin' Mind?! (An Appalachian Tale) (originally titled "Trail Magic").

May 29, 2015 premier of the documentary -- TRAIL MAGIC: THE GRANDMA GATEWOOD STORY.

THE TRAIL OF TRAIL MAGIC

June, 2016: film premieres on PBS stationWOUB, Athens, Ohio.

In April 27, 2017: nominated for an Emmy Award

October 5, 2019: awarded "Best Local Documentary" at the Chagrin Falls Film Festival.

July 9, 2020: awarded Second Place for a Short Documentary at the International Indie Gathering. September 4, 2020 director, Peter Huston, was nominated as Best Director for an Ohio Film and editor, Peggy Foley was nominated for Best Editing of an Ohio Film!

October 1, 2020: TRAIL MAGIC received a designation of Excellence in the Documentary Category and Anne McEvoy (our Grandma Gatewood) received the Excellence designation in the Lead Actress Category of the WRPN Women's International Film Festival.

December 10, 2021: The Lake Erie Film Festival nominated TRAIL MAGIC for the "Best of its Genre" award.

Find out what people think about TRAIL MAGIC!

FIND OUT WHERE YOU CAN SEE A GRANDMA GATEWOOD PROGRAM!

If you would like to present our Grandma Gatewood storytelling program, play or documentary to YOUR group,download a program price list and let us know what you would like to do.

To find out where and when you can catch any of our Grandma Gatewood presentations, be sure to check our calendar page regularly.

Meet some of the women who were inspired by Emma.

We have a special Facebook page for our documentary where you can get up-to-date information including where the film is playing. Like It and stay in the loop!

COMPLETE ORDERING INFORMATION

TRAIL MAGIC: THE GRANDMA GATEWOOD STORY is available on-line through Vimeo.

Purchase our book about Emma by Bette Lou Higgins and Kelly Boyer Sagert. Emma's daughter Lucy Seeds told us, "Bette Lou and Kelly: You did an excellent job on Mama's Bio. I thoroughly enjoyed the read. I found no fault. Thank you. Lucy" (read an excerpt)

Donor List/Supporter Information and Trail Magic Staff

We invite you to join us in helping us continue to tell the stories that others forget with a tax deductible donation.

There's no such thing a "small donation"! We appreciate your help.

Additional information about the project -- Video Clips, pictures, interviews -- Find it all HERE!

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Grandma Gatewood, "Trail Magic"