How Linda McKenna Boxx Brought Persistence, Partnerships, and Vision to Create a Regional Legacy

On a balmy summer afternoon, cyclists coast down from the Eastern Continental Divide toward Cumberland, Maryland, savoring the shaded paths and dramatic vistas that make the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) one of the nation’s premier long-distance trails. For them, the ride is simple joy. But behind every mile lies a story of persistence, political maneuvering, and community collaboration spanning decades – with Linda McKenna Boxx leading the way.

The GAP, stretching 150 miles from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, was not inevitable. It was painstakingly built, piece by piece, by local volunteers, county governments, nonprofit leaders, and regional advocates. Together they believed trails could be places for recreation as well as engines of health, community, and economic development.

Boxx grew up in Ligonier, spending much of her childhood exploring the woods nearby and letting her imagination run wild. Her mother, the opposite of a helicopter parent, encouraged independence, while her older brother expected her to keep up as if she were his younger counterpart.

From a young age, she was naturally cheerful—what she calls a “happy gene”—nurtured by a childhood filled with outdoor play and freedom. Her mother limited television time to encourage creativity, a concern for children that continues to resonate with her today.

She recalls working with a chemistry professor from St. Vincent College to carve out a simple one-mile trail. That project became a proving ground, providing her with the confidence to knock on doors and showing her how trails could connect people to the outdoors, build local pride, and attract volunteers.

“If you want to protect the environment, if you want to conserve land, people have to see it, touch it, and experience it. And trails are a really easy way to do that,” Boxx said. “I built this little one-mile trail along the creek… and honed a lot of my skills for working on the Great Allegheny Passage."

The success of the Loyalhanna Creek project led Boxx to larger ambitions. The roots of the GAP trace back to the early 1980s, when community leaders in Somerset, Westmoreland, Fayette and Allegheny Counties began exploring ways to turn abandoned rail corridors into public trails.

In the early 1990s, the Regional Trail Corporation was formed to coordinate with three counties to purchase and manage 43 miles of abandoned rail line between McKeesport and Connellsville.

Local governments, nonprofits, and residents came together under a memorandum of understanding, an early example of the kind of intergovernmental cooperation that would define the GAP’s future.

A graduate of Bucknell University, Boxx worked in state government in Pennsylvania from 1975 to 1978, and in Arkansas from 1978 to 1981, before returning to work for the family foundation. She currently serves as chairman of the Katherine Mabis McKenna Foundation, based in Latrobe. She has also served on the boards of many other organizations and entities, including the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, the Fallingwater Advisory Committee, Pennsylvania Pedalcycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, the Gettysburg Foundation and Saint Vincent College.

To be exact, trail advocates laid out the need: $10 million to finish the trail and $6 million for the tunnel. Geist proposed adding two line items to the state capital budget—seemingly a $16 million breakthrough. But there was a catch. The capital budget provided authorization, not actual dollars.

“We walked out of that meeting thinking we had $16 million to spend, and realized pretty quickly we didn’t have a dime,” said Boxx, explaining that the funding still required legislative approval and the governor’s release.

Navigating Pennsylvania politics was never simple. At the time, tensions between former Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy and the state legislature made funding requests linked to the city politically fraught. To avoid controversy, Geist and his allies even named the project the “C&O Canal Trail Extension” rather than associating it directly with Pittsburgh.

“For 20 years, it was just: okay, we got that done, what’s the next step? What’s the next step? What’s the next step,” she recounted. “It was a lot about developing trust, not moving too fast, figuring out what it was going to cost, and what dominoes had to fall in the right way to make the most sense.”

In the early 2000s, the Allegheny Trail Alliance came to JHF to discuss the project. At the encouragement of JHF’s President and CEO Karen Wolk Feinstein, PhD, and with funding from JHF, the organization established a project called “Great Little Walks,” highlighting 10 walks people could take on the segmented portions of the trail to begin to use and enjoy it.

In 2000, JHF also gave $335,000 in total toward the trail, helping to complete the bridge, provide maps and markers, and establish a new 1.5 mile trail, known as the “JHF Trail.” Located on the north side of the Allegheny River between the Fort Wayne Railroad Bridge and the West End Bridge, it has a partial soft surface to accommodate the use by seniors and those with joint impairment and has easy access for the handicapped, seniors, and families.

In 2008, to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of Pittsburgh, the “Pittsburgh 250” initiative aimed to leave behind lasting legacies. Out of dozens of proposals, only three projects were chosen: restoration of the iconic fountain at Point State Park, exploration of Braddock’s Trail, and completion of the Great Allegheny Passage. The designation elevated the GAP into a regional priority and opened new doors.

“It was suddenly clear, that the GAP wasn’t just a trail, it was part of how we wanted to define Pittsburgh and our region for the next generation,” Boxx recalled.

While politics and engineering made headlines, the heart of the GAP project has always been its impact on people and communities.

Trails are accessible, low-cost spaces where anyone can walk, run, or ride. They promote physical health, mental well-being, and social connection. Boxx fondly remembers one EMS worker from West Newton, for example, who shared how walking on the trail helped him lose significant weight and improve his health. Stories like his highlight the trail’s role in fostering healthier lifestyles.

The GAP has also proven to be an economic engine. Visitors spend money in trail towns on food, lodging, and supplies, supporting local businesses and generating tax revenue. Businesses from Connellsville to Meyersdale thrive on trail tourism, and small towns have new reasons to celebrate their identities.

By 2013, after decades of work, the final sections of the GAP were completed. Leaders proudly declared the 150-mile corridor finished, with connections all the way to Washington, D.C. But the work didn’t stop. Remaining funds were reinvested in building additional sections and strengthening the trail experience.

For Boxx, the GAP was never just about asphalt, bridges, or tunnels. It was about creating an enduring resource for health, connection, and community pride that future generations could inherit. Today, the trail has put southwestern Pennsylvania and western Maryland on the map as destinations for outdoor recreation, drawing visitors from around the world, fueling local economies, and giving residents a place to walk, ride, and dream, just as its earliest advocates imagined back in the 1980s.

“It’s here to stay. It’s wonderful that there are counties and volunteers that continue to care for it and help it grow,” Boxx reflected. Though she laments her parents did not live to see the trail completed, she hopes her grandchildren will one day appreciate its legacy and her role in it.

She credits Dr. Feinstein and JHF as steadfast champions along the way. “Karen is a trail user and is always advocating for healthy life practices. As a strong athletic woman herself, it was so encouraging to have her support in getting the job done,” Boxx said.

Today, that partnership is marked permanently on the GAP itself, where one of only two named bridges honors the Jewish Healthcare Foundation, testament to the shared vision that helped transform an abandoned corridor into a regional treasure.

Today, that partnership is marked permanently on the GAP itself, where the fly-over bridge at Whitaker honors the Jewish Healthcare Foundation, one of only two named bridges, and testament to the shared vision that helped transform an abandoned corridor into a regional treasure.