Interview with Annie Oakley!

Courtney, Kayla, and Lyndsey

Reporter: Hello, Annie Oakley. How are you doing?



Annie: Quite good, thank you. But so much is different in these modern times than it was back when I was famous.



Reporter: Oh, really? How different? Please explain.



Annie: Well, let me think for a moment, if you will. Well, for one thing, we have all these fancy modern technology. Such as electricity, is that what it's called?



Reporter: Yes, yes it is. So, Annie, what do you think about 'cars'?



Annie: Well, it seems that we have have made leaps and bounds when it comes to getting around. Why, you can be in one place one minute, and in another minute, the next!



Reporter: (Laughing) I see how it would be a bit overwhelming to you.



Annie: Yes, exactly.



Reporter: Please tell us about your childhood.



Annie: Well, all right, I suppose. I had a hard childhood. My mother married and remarried three different times, it seemed as if every time i turned around I had a different father.



Reporter: Were your parents not good to you?



Annie: Well, after marrying so many times, my mother had a lot of children-



Reporter: You were the fifth out of seven, were you not?



Annie: Yes, yes that's right.



Reporter: And then...



Annie: My mother had to send me to a farm, where I was then abused mentally and physically.



Reporter: So that was a hard time for you, right?



Annie: I would say so, yes. But, it actually helped me shape who I am right now. I had to provide meat for my family, what with my father, unable to help.



Reporter: So, you think it's a good thing that you had such a traumatic childhood?



Annie: In a way, yes, yes I do think. I suppose I would have been just fine without being abused, but, I suppose it helped me become who I was.



Reporter: All right, moving on. Tell me about the start of your career.



Annie: After the poverty following the death of my fathers, I decided I needed to make a place in the world for me. I had to quit school early, to provide for my struggling family, and my sharp-shootedness spread throughout the town.



Reporter: You mean you became famous in your town?



Annie: Yes, that's it exactly.



Reporter: I hear you made enough from hunting to pay off your mother's mortgage on her house. Is this true?



Annie: (Blushing) Well, I don't want to to take all the credit...but, yes, it was all me.



Reporter: I see. Well, how did your career launch?





Annie: Well, like I said, I hunted and became well known in my region. Then, I traveled to my first sharp-shooting contest. I beat the man I was going up against, and then I ended up marrying him!


Reporter: Oh, how sweet.


Annie: Yes, well, continuing on, if you don't mind.


Reporter: Why, um, yes of course.


Annie: Well, it all my career exploded as soon as I started working with Frankie. It started out that I was his assistant, then we both agreed that I was a much better marksman.


Reporter: Markswoman, you mean.


Annie: Whatever you say, you're the professional.


Reporter: Exactly. What happened then?


Annie: Well, then everything fell into place. It was just a happy time for me. Everything was going well, I could shoot a cigarette out of a person's mouth-


Reporter: I hear you shot a cigarette out the the Crown Prince of Germany's mouth. True?


Annie: Oh, yes, yes, yes. That was one of the highest moments in my life.


Reporter: I'd imagine so, Mrs. Oakley.


Annie: (Laughing) No need for flatter, really.


Reporter: Of course. So, did you and Frank ever have any children?


Annie: Oh, goodness, no! The little scoundrels!? I'd have rather perished!


Reporter: Why ever not?


Annie: I suppose it had something to do with my childhood. I was abused, you know, mentally and physically.


Reporter: Why would that have anything to do with having children of your own? I mean, wouldn't that make you want to be an even better mother for yourself?


Annie: That's not how it works.


Reporter: And why not?


Annie: It's just not.


Reporter: (Clearing throat) Well, I can see that that's a rather sensitive subject for you-


Annie: Slightly.


Reporter: So, we'll just move on to the next question. Have you been to the "Annie Oakley Days Festival" in Greenville , Ohio?


Annie: No, and I must say, I wish I could have the pleasure.


Reporter: If you do happen to check it out, would you sign up for the karaoke contest?


Annie: Most positively! Where else would I be but singing my ode to sharp-shooting?


Reporter: I see.


Annie: Any more questions? I'm getting rather tired. I am, after all 148.


Reporter: Oh, oh of course. I'd forgotten your age.


Annie: Well, I haven't.


Reporter: Just one more question.


Annie: Yes?


Reporter: Was it terrifying going through a major train-crash?


Annie: Oh, gracious. More than anything. Well, other than being mentally and physically abused, of course.


Reporter: Of course.

Annie Oakley

Courtney

Annie Oakley was born August 13, 1860. Her real name was Phoebe Ann Oakley Mozee, but everyone just called her Annie. The name everyone knows her from, though, is Annie Oakley, and it came to be after she mad it big onstage. She was born in Patterson Township, Darke County, Ohio.

Annie never had any formal teaching, but ran free and wild and a kid. Her parents were Quaker, and they had seven children, of which she was the fifth. Her mother and father were originally innkeepers, but that quickly ended with a fire. They moved to Ohio to farm. Annie’s father died in 1866 from pneumonia and over-exposure to freezing weather. Annie’s mother promptly remarried and had another child, but her second husband died. After this death, Annie was sent to a poor county farm, where she learned to embroider and sew. She was sent away to another family, where she was mentally and physically abused. When she finally got back to her home, she found that her mother had remarried a third time.

Annie Oakley had many accomplishments, mostly to do with guns and horse riding. She was so good at shooting that Chief Sitting Bull dubbed her “Little Sure Shot”. She began shooting when she was nine, getting food for her poor family. Word was spread about how good of a shot she was, and soon she traveled to compete against a sharp-shooter, Frank E. Butler (1850-1926), Annie won the match, and his heart. They were soon married, and Annie became Frank’s assistant. But a little while later, Frank realized that Annie was better than him, so they switched places.

1885 was the year they joined Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, ran by Buffalo Bill Cody. She became well known all around America for the amazing tricks she could perform. She once shot a cigarette right out of the Crown Prince of Germany, Wilhelm’s mouth.

Inn 1901, Annie was in a sever train crash, and she suffered spinal injury. It slowed her down, and she was even paralyzed but Annie eventually made it out to perform again. When she was 62, she shot 100 clay targets in a row.

Annie Oakley died November 3, 1926 when she was 66.