Peace Pilgrim
| Peace Pilgrim | |
|---|---|
Peace Pilgrim in Hawaii – 1980
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| Born |
July 18, 1908 Egg Harbor City, New Jersey |
| Died | July 7, 1981 (aged 72) Knox, Indiana |
| Website | www |
Peace Pilgrim (July 18, 1908 – July 7, 1981) born Mildred Lisette Norman, was an American non-denominational spiritual teacher,mystic,pacifist,vegetarian activist and peace activist. In 1952, she became the first woman to walk the entire length of the Appalachian Trail in one season. She also walked across the United States to speak with those she would encounter about peace. She was on her seventh cross-county jouney when she died. Starting on January 1, 1953, in Pasadena, California, she adopted the name "Peace Pilgrim" and walked across the United States for 28 years.
A transcript of a 1964 conversation with Peace Pilgrim from a broadcast on KPFK radio in Los Angeles, California, was published as "". She stopped counting miles in that year, having walked more than 40,000 km (25,000 mi) for peace.
Mildred Lisette Norman was born on a poultry farm in Egg Harbor City, New Jersey, in 1908, the oldest of three children. Her mother, Josephine Marie Ranch, was a tailor, and her father, Ernest Norman, a carpenter. Although poor, the family were admired in a community of German immigrants, whose relatives originally settled the area after escaping Germany in 1855.
In 1933 she eloped with Stanley Ryder and moved to Philadelphia in 1939. They divorced in 1946.
In the book, "Peace Pilgrim: Her Life and Work in Her Own Words", she related that her physical journey began after having experienced a "spiritual awakening", following a long period of meditation practice. She said that this awakening was a direct, mystical experience of the "creator's" love. She claimed that this spurred her to then start her decades-long walking journey for peace.
Her pilgrimage spanned almost three decades beginning January 1, 1953, in Pasadena, California. The Korean War was in progress. She continued walking for 28 years, spanning the American involvement in the Vietnam War and beyond. Peace Pilgrim was a frequent speaker at churches, universities, and local and national radio and television.
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