Gabriel shares about international superstar sharpshooter Annie Oakley. Oakley grew up in Darke County before going on to perform her skills in shows across the world!
Class Discussion Questions:
1) Create an advertising poster for Annie Oakley's show.
Read the Script:
When you think of an international superstar, I bet the first person to pop into mind is maybe an athlete or an actress or a musician. But how about a gun slingin’ gal?
Cause back in the days of the Wild West, sharpshooter Annie Oakley was famous around the globe.
Before her rise to fame, Annie was an Ohio kid. She was born in 1860 in Darke County. Her rural childhood was anything but fancy. Annie’s father died when she was 6, leaving behind her mother and 7 children. They struggled to make ends meet on their small farm. Annie helped out by trapping animals for food – and legend has it – she shot her first squirrel when she was only 8 years old.
By the time she was 15, Annie was such a good hunter that she started selling the game she shot to shops and inns around Ohio. She earned enough money to pay off her mother’s farm! She was becoming well known in the region for her skills.
Shortly after she turned 16, Annie entered a contest near Cincinnati against a professional shooter named Frank Butler. Apparently Frank was surprised to find his competition was a barely 5-foot tall teenaged girl…but perhaps he was even more surprised when she beat him! Of the 25 birds they were supposed to shoot, Annie didn’t miss a single one. Frank did pretty good too though, only missing one bird.
But this was just the beginning of the story of Annie and Frank…clearly he didn’t hold a grudge, because within one year they were married, and they lived together happily for 50 years!
Annie joined Frank’s professional shooting act, and over time she became the main performer while Frank became her manager. She could shoot dimes thrown into the air or the flame of a burning candle, and she could split a playing card in half on the thin side with one bullet. Annie could hit a target while riding a moving horse or by shooting backward over her shoulder using a mirror. Basically, she was a super skilled sharpshooter!
She was a star attraction of Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West show for almost 17 years. During that time, she and Frank traveled throughout the United States and Europe, living mostly on the road in tents. In Paris she demonstrated her shooting skills for millions of spectators, including the French president and the king of Senegal. In Europe she also performed for the queen of England, the king of Italy and the German Kaiser.
And that’s how she became an international superstar. When she returned to the United States after a 3-year tour of Europe, the American public was totally fascinated with her. She was even featured in one of the very earliest motion pictures created by lightbulb-inventor, Thomas Edison. You can see her shooting glass balls being thrown in the air.
Today, you can see many of Annie Oakley’s personal possessions and memorabilia at the Garst Museum and National Annie Oakley Center in Greenville. There is also an annual Annie Oakley Festival at the Darke County fairgrounds every summer, complete with a parade and of course a shooting contest.