Images of women's marches around the world recently showed massive crowds spilling down streets. Meanwhile, this was the scene in Sandy Cove, Nova Scotia, a place with a permanent population of just 65 people.
A small but mighty group gathered on the highway that runs through the fishing village for their own women's march on Jan. 21.
It all started with Gwen Quigley Wilson, a 63-year-old retired teacher. Rather than making the two-and-a-half-hour drive to participate in the Halifax march, Wilson and her friend Melissa made a Facebook event for a local event.
"And then people just started arriving," she said. "It was joyful to see people rolling in."
"We did our walk and rattled our noisemakers and waved our signs at the passing cars and just enjoyed each other’s company," said Wilson. "It was very exhilarating just to be out walking."
One of the marchers posted a short video of the event on Facebook. Wilson was astounded when it hit 1,000 views — now it's at more than 160,000.
And people from all over the place are leaving them messages of support.
"It’s overwhelming," said Wilson. "It just makes you realize that you’re not isolated, you’re not alone, there’s a whole world out there standing with you."
And for Wilson, there was also a reason much closer to home to march: the birth of her first granddaughter.
