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Merit Badge Chit Chat:  Each Other: Her Story--Expert Level  |
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Carrie W
Farmgirl Legend/Chapter Guru
437 Posts
Saratoga Springs
New York
USA
437 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 04 2021 : 11:33:34 AM
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In the 1800’s in the tiny area of Shaftsbury, VT, not far from where I live, there lived a quiet, disabled woman who loved to sew. She was described later in life as a “seamstress extraordinaire and mathematical genius” and was posthumously celebrated for her contributions to quilting. Her quilting ‘magnum opus’ is the very well-known Dear Jane Quilt. This quilt was created by Jane Blakely Stickle (1817-1890) in the 1860s and is inscribed on one of the pieces with the words “In War Time, 1868.” It is believed that this incredible quilt, made with 5602 pieces of fabric, was lovingly hand sewn as a way to deal with the pain of separation and loss that so many families were feeling during the Civil War. (Dear Jane, Brenda Manges Papadakis—patterns and biographical “letters”)
Emma Gatewood, also known as Grandma Gatewood, is attributed with saving the Appalachian Trail. She earned this title by becoming the first woman to ever hike the length of the Appalachian Trail on her own in 1955, at the age of 68. During her stops at local homes or towns she would share details of her journey with people, and eventually the press caught on, bringing Emma’s adventure to the attention of the entire nation. Emma did this trip three times, in tennis shoes and with her supplies in a sack—no backpack or fancy gear. Because of Emma’s successful hike, many other people were inspired to journey the 2,168-mile trail from Mt. Oglethorpe, Georgia, to Mt. Katahdin, Maine, generating enough interest in the trails that they became well maintained, and even encouraged the development and maintenance of hiking trails in other areas of the country. Six miles of this trail is now named after her and dedicated with a Memorial Plaque. (Grandma Gatewood’s Walk, Ben Montgomery)
Emma didn’t set out on her adventure to get honors or attention, but rather, it was a journey of healing for herself after a life of raising 11 children and suffering constant abuse at the hands of a violent husband. I admire her for having the courage to step out her front door, away from the only life she had known as an adult, and become the instrument of her own healing. She gives me hope that I, too, may have the opportunity to hike this magnificent trail, even if it is not until my later years. And the Jane Stickle quilt, now known as the Dear Jane Quilt, is an aspiration for myself in my quilting journey. I have finished almost a dozen of the quilt square patterns and have a couple dozen ready for appliqueing. I have such admiration for both of these “pioneers” and their stories resonate deeply with me.
Farmgirl Sisterhood #147
2009 Farmgirl of the Year
Not your average Girl ;-)
Tis better to weep at joy than to joy at weeping--Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing |
Edited by - Carrie W on Jul 04 2021 11:34:29 AM |
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AussieChick
Sharpshooter
347 Posts
Cindy
Bend
Oregon
USA
347 Posts |
Posted - Jul 05 2021 : 8:44:55 PM
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Thank you for sharing this post about 2 extraordinary women. I especially loved reading about Emma Gatewood. I have read Bill Bryson's book about the Appalachian Trail and I too would one day love to hike the trail. I'm afraid I will be taking a backpack though - not sure how I'd go with a simple sack flung over my shoulder. What an amazing woman!!
Farmgirl #6058
Farmgirl Sister of the Year 2021
"The happiest people don't have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything they have". |
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AndreaPA
True Blue Farmgirl
527 Posts
Andrea
Factoryville
PA
USA
527 Posts |
Posted - Jul 06 2021 : 03:28:46 AM
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Great stories! Thank you for posting this. I hiked a very small section of the Trail in Virginia many years ago. Would love to hike more of it.
Andrea
Farmgirl# 8166
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MaryJanesNiece
True Blue Farmgirl
6680 Posts
Krista
Utah
USA
6680 Posts |
Posted - Jul 07 2021 : 12:27:48 PM
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Thanks for sharing, Carrie. It was lovely to read about these 2 ladies and learn something new. I’m proud of Emma for being strong and taking control of her healing. I would love to check out that trail someday and learn some more.
Krista |
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debbieklann
Sharpshooter/Schoolmarm
764 Posts
Debbie
Madras
OR
USA
764 Posts |
Posted - Jul 08 2021 : 07:26:24 AM
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I had never heard of Emma Gatewood but she sounds fascinating! I am going to read this. I think I am going to love her story....what an inspirational woman.
I admire you creating your own Dear Jane quilt! I have a friend who was working on one years ago. What a treasure it will be!
Debbie Klann
Farmgirl Sister #770
2018 Farmgirl of the Year
"Well behaved women seldom make history"....Laurel Thatcher Ulrich |
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Red Tractor Girl
True Blue Farmgirl
6517 Posts
Winnie
Gainesville
Fl
USA
6517 Posts |
Posted - Jul 10 2021 : 05:10:12 AM
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Carrie, the stories of these two women are beautiful! Both women are new to me and like you, I am inspired at how they contributed to a broken world that they found themselves in. Their stories are important and I am so glad you shared them here with us.
Winnie #3109
Red Tractor Girl
Farm Sister of the Year 2014-2015
FGOTM- October 2018 |
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debbieklann
Sharpshooter/Schoolmarm
764 Posts
Debbie
Madras
OR
USA
764 Posts |
Posted - Jul 10 2021 : 07:21:50 AM
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I just found Emma's story on my Libby app and started reading yesterday...I am already hooked! What a courageous woman.
Debbie Klann
Farmgirl Sister #770
2018 Farmgirl of the Year
"Well behaved women seldom make history"....Laurel Thatcher Ulrich |
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katmom
True Blue Farmgirl
17023 Posts
Grace
WACAL Gal
WashCalif.
USA
17023 Posts |
Posted - Jul 31 2021 : 09:51:29 AM
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Thanks for sharing these 2 women's lives with us,,,
I recall reading a bit of a Bio on Emma Gate wood many years ago, about her accomplishments and the Appalachian Trail.
With this crazy hot weather,, I think a little down time for reading is perfect.
>^..^<
Happiness is being a katmom and Glamping Diva!
www.katmom4.blogspot.com & http://graciesvictorianrose.blogspot.com
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Carrie W
Farmgirl Legend/Chapter Guru
437 Posts
Saratoga Springs
New York
USA
437 Posts |
Posted - Jul 31 2021 : 1:23:10 PM
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Everyone who is reading Emma's story, let me know how you were inspired by her! I fell in love with this lady and I can't believe I hadn't heard of her before my Mom gave me her book.
Also, if there are any hiker out there, let me know where you've been this summer~
I took the pups to Vermont last week and we hiked 4 miles but scooted out of the woods sooner than I wanted to because of thunder and threat of storms. It's been a bad summer for outdoor fun here in Upstate NY.
But I'd love to hear where you all are exploring these days :-)
Farmgirl Sisterhood #147
2009 Farmgirl of the Year
Not your average Girl ;-)
Tis better to weep at joy than to joy at weeping--Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing |
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AussieChick
Sharpshooter
347 Posts
Cindy
Bend
Oregon
USA
347 Posts |
Posted - Aug 05 2021 : 6:42:37 PM
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Yes, Carrie, my husband and I love hiking!! While we are in our winter months over here, we have still been able to get out and about on the trails. We made a recent trip to Tasmania and hiked around Hartz Mountain National Park. It was rather chilly, and the rain and fog rolled in as we were heading to the top. Nevertheless, it was still a beautiful walk in the alpine environment.
Farmgirl #6058
Farmgirl Sister of the Year 2021
"The happiest people don't have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything they have". |
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Carrie W
Farmgirl Legend/Chapter Guru
437 Posts
Saratoga Springs
New York
USA
437 Posts |
Posted - Aug 06 2021 : 08:27:21 AM
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Cindy, I love it! It looks like an awesome place to explore~
Farmgirl Sisterhood #147
2009 Farmgirl of the Year
Not your average Girl ;-)
Tis better to weep at joy than to joy at weeping--Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing |
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Carrie W
Farmgirl Legend/Chapter Guru
437 Posts
Saratoga Springs
New York
USA
437 Posts |
Posted - Aug 06 2021 : 08:31:04 AM
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Here are some pics from my wanderings in Rupert Vermont a couple weekends ago....(timestamp n the camera is wrong...it was end of July 2021)
I had a brief video of the pups in the creek but I don't know how to upload a video. Doesn't look like that is an option here. Anyway, we had a good walk and I got a little workout in on the hills. I've been in school for 4 years and haven't been climbing at all so I'm terribly out of shape. I'm hoping to get up into the Adirondacks again soon, though.
Farmgirl Sisterhood #147
2009 Farmgirl of the Year
Not your average Girl ;-)
Tis better to weep at joy than to joy at weeping--Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing |
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AussieChick
Sharpshooter
347 Posts
Cindy
Bend
Oregon
USA
347 Posts |
Posted - Sep 13 2021 : 3:18:08 PM
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I read 2 biographies for the Expert "Her-Story" merit badge. One was entitled "Mary Gaunt: Independent Colonial Woman" by Bronwen Hickman, and the other was "Radio Girl" by David Dufty.
Mary Gaunt – Born on the Victorian Goldfields in Chiltern in 1861, Mary was well-educated and well-connected. She was a tomboy and a rebel – her father encouraged her, her mother disapproved. One of the first female students to attend the University of Melbourne, she wrote articles and stories in order to fund her travels. She trekked through the great mahogany forests of West Africa. She went to China in the chaos that followed the downfall of the Ch’ing dynasty, and narrowly avoided the marauding White Wolf. She proved that a woman can live by her pen in that era. When war came, she was trapped behind enemy lines and never made it home to Australia.
“I want to earn my own living – to be quite independent. I don’t care how little I earn at first, if I can go on improving, like a man. I want to earn enough to be sure of being comfortably off in my old age. To be decently dressed, you know, and be able to travel about a little, and buy books, and have money to give away…If I didn’t marry then, it wouldn’t matter a bit. I’d be a great deal better off than half the women who marry because they must.”
Mary married Dr Hubert Lindsay Miller on 8 August 1894 at St. George’s Church, Malvern. He sadly died after 5 years. They had no children.
In northern Victoria, on the fringe of the small township of Chiltern, is an empty paddock beside the pioneer cemetery where a few early graves bear witness to the bustle of goldfields life. In an empty field near the graves stands a gnarled pear tree, claimed by local people to be the remainder of the Woodlands orchard; the tree certainly looks old enough. If this was indeed the site of Woodlands, it is the most tangible remaining link with Mary’s earliest years – the garden where she played as a child. As her childhood homes were on the frontiers of the gold rush and in government residences in bush towns, little evidence of them remains.
Violet McKenzie (‘Mrs Mac’) – Born in Melbourne in 1890, Violet was a smart girl from a poor mining town who loved to play with her father’s tools. Violet recalled “I used to play about with bells and buzzers and things around the house. My mother would sometimes say "Oh, come and help me find something, it's so dark in this cupboard" – she didn't have very good eyesight… So I'd get a battery and I'd hook a switch, and when she opened that cupboard door a light would come on… I started sort of playing with those things”.
She became Australia’s first electrical engineer, a pioneer of the radio, founder of the Women's Emergency Signaling Corps (WESC), successful businesswoman, and lifelong promoter for technical education for women. As the clouds of war gathered in the 1930s, she defied convention and trained young women in Morse code, foreseeing that their services would soon be sorely needed. Always a champion of women, she was instrumental in getting Australian women into the armed forces. Eventually, some 12,000 servicemen and women passed through her signal instruction school in Sydney, acquiring skill in Morse code and visual signaling (flag semaphore and International Code of Signals).
She set up her own electrical contracting business in 1918, and apprenticed herself to it, in order to meet the requirements of the Diploma in Electrical Engineering at Sydney Technical College and in 1922 she was the first Australian woman to take out an amateur radio operator's license. Through the 1920s and 1930s, her "Wireless Shop" in Sydney's Royal Arcade was renowned amongst Sydney radio experimenters and hobbyists. She founded The Wireless Weekly in 1922, established the Electrical Association for Women in 1934, and wrote the first "all-electric cookbook" in 1936. She also corresponded with Albert Einstein in the postwar years.
Cecil Roland McKenzie was a young electrical engineer employed by the Sydney County Council's Electricity Undertaking. He too was a radio enthusiast, and one of Violet's customers at the shop. They were married at the Church of St Philip in Auburn on New Year's Eve 1924. They built a house at 26 George Street, Greenwich Point complete with a wireless room in the attic. The house remains, but has been extensively renovated since the McKenzies lived there. Cecil & Violet had a daughter, stillborn, in 1926.
Farmgirl #6058
Farmgirl Sister of the Year 2021
"The happiest people don't have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything they have". |
Edited by - AussieChick on Sep 13 2021 3:26:15 PM |
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Red Tractor Girl
True Blue Farmgirl
6517 Posts
Winnie
Gainesville
Fl
USA
6517 Posts |
Posted - Sep 14 2021 : 08:33:53 AM
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Such inspiring women that I have never heard of before! Thank-you and Cindy for sharing some of your adventures too.
Winnie #3109
Red Tractor Girl
Farm Sister of the Year 2014-2015
FGOTM- October 2018 |
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Merit Badge Chit Chat: Each Other: Her Story--Expert Level |
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Each Other: Her Story--Expert Level
