Annie Oakley

Annie Oakley. . , At a time when shooting was America's second most popular spectator sport (after horse racing), Annie Oakley (1860-1926) was the superstar. She was born Phoebe Ann Moses in Darke County, Ohio. Her family was extremely poor, and she learned to shoot game to help support them., Annie met the love of her life, sharpshooter Frank Butler, when at age 15 she beat him in a shooting match., When Frank made her part of his shooting act, she took the stage name "Annie Oakley." The great Sioux leader Sitting Bull adopted her, Buffalo Bill made her famous, and England's Queen Victoria called her "a clever little girl.", She was the star of the Wild West show for 17 years, from 1885 through 1901., Annie Oakley had a passion for the outdoors. She was a bicyclist and a superb horsewoman, and she loved hunting with her bird dog, Dave. With a shotgun she showed that women could compete successfully in a man's sport. Not content to be simply a role model, she made a crusade out of teaching women and girls to shoot., Aim at a high mark, and you will hit it. No, not the first time, nor the second time, and maybe not the third. But keep on aiming, and keep on shooting, for only practice will make you perfect. Finally, you will hit the bull's-eye of success. , - Annie Oakley's motto, Oakley [Kansas] was not named for Annie Oakley - not exactly. The town had several names as it evolved from a railroad camp to a modern transportation and farming center -- Blaisville, Carlyle, Cleveland, and then Gilmore. Finally, in 1886 entrepreneur D. D. Hoag organized a town company named, he said, in honor of his mother, Eliza Oakley Gardner Hoag. Still, it couldn't hurt that Annie Oakley was already becoming one of the most famous women in America., Annie's motto is the perfect sentiment for the town and the region. High ideals, hard work, and persistence - not to mention a touch of adventure and a love of the outdoors - have characterized Oakley and the people who call it home.