52 WEEKS::Annie Oakley - SOLD

Aim at a high mark and you’ll hit it. No, not the first time, nor the second time. Maybe not the third. But keep on aiming and keep on shooting for only practice will make you perfect.

~ Annie Oakley

Annie Oakley has been a role model for my youngest daughter, and I often felt that she embodied Annie's determined spirit.  Annie's father died with a large young family who were left in poverty.  She began hunting and trapping at age seven, then was hired out for slave wages to a family who mentally and physically abused her and whom she called 'the wolves'.   She became known in her region for her skill with a rifle and so competed at the age of 15 against a travelling marksman.  After 25 shots, she beat the marksman to win $100 and then married him a year later.  At only 5 feet tall, she became known as 'Little Sure Shot' in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show and became the highest paid performer.  After a terrible train accident, she later became an actress and was known to have taught over 15,000 women how to use a gun both for physical exercise and for self defense.