In the spring of 1955, a 67-year-old grandmother from Ohio told her children she was going for a walk.

In the spring of 1955, a 67-year-old grandmother from Ohio told her children she was going for a walk.

She didn’t say how far. She didn’t say why. She simply kissed them goodbye, packed a cloth bag with the barest essentials, and vanished into the Georgia wilderness.

Her name was Emma Rowena Gatewood — and she was about to do something no woman had ever done before.