Wednesday, April 17, 2013

O = Annie Oakley


Phoebe Ann Moses was an American sharpshooter better known as Annie Oakley. Her skill with a rifle brought her fame and a star billing in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.

As a teenager, Annie shot game for food for her family and to sell to local restaurants. A shooter named Frances Butler put up a bet that he could out shoot anyone in town. He lost to a 15-year old girl, Annie. Not long after the two were married.

Annie Oakley performed around the world for audiences and royalty alike. She demonstrated her skill for Queen Victorian and Kaiser Wilhelm. Chief Sitting Bull called her ‘Little Sure Shot.‘

Annie was an outspoken advocate for women. She petitioned President McKinley for women to be able join the military. She personally taught over 15,000 women to shoot, promoting shooting sports as physical and mental exercise as well as providing the ability to defend themselves.

At 62, Annie still had it when in 1922 she participated in a shooting contest. She hit the100 clay targets in a row.

For more about Annie Oakley: http://www.historynet.com/annie-oakley

6 comments:

loverofwords said...

The photograph is wonderful. Strong woman, obviously, 100 shots in a row, amazing.

Laura S. said...

Hello, Kate! Annie Oakley was quite a woman. I like it that no one could outshoot her. I bet the men didn't like that one bit, haha. Thanks for sharing about her!

Happy A to Z-ing! from Laura Marcella @ Wavy Lines

Maurice Mitchell said...

I would love to see a Youtube video of her doing her playing card shooting trick. It would be bigger than Gungnam style.
-Maurice Mitchell
The Geek Twins

Tony Laplume said...

Annie got her gun. And her man, apparently.

Kate OMara said...

So glad you enjoyed this post about Annie!

Rick said...

That woman sets a moral precedence for ALL women, AND men.
She even did NOT use "feminism" as a crutch. -because she knew even back then "it" was just a crutch for weak women, and weak men.
Annie and her hubby (Butler) remained faithful and loving to each other through everything.
No man would stick with a woman, (especially one that could outshoot any other man), unless he "unconditionally" loved her, the "real" Annie, just as she him. :)
She even beat, and rightfully so,the great Randolph Hearst, and many others', (who would have been considered an evil Tycoon, Corporation,..., even by today's standards).

Even though her own Mother forsook her, Annie fought and struggled through her "slave-ridden" teens, and still came back to help her Mother and her Family any way she could, without retribution, or hatred of any kind.

That alone is a human strenth that is beyond rare, it's almost non-existent today.
And ironically, it was a hundred times harder to acomplish what she did back then, compared to the "ease" of today.

It almost makes me NOT believe in "evolution", and survival of the cruelly fittest ?

Her life is a biblical mirror of how we should ALL strive to live as.